


Remedy

by Leslie_Knope



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-14 19:06:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5754760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leslie_Knope/pseuds/Leslie_Knope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU beginning in which Steve and Danny meet while both on vacation and quickly realize their connection—Danny’s boss on the governor’s new task force just so happens to be Steve’s dad. Maybe while pursuing a relationship with Danny, Steve can also fix the one with his dad along the way. </p><p>In strictest summary: a lot of sex, a little angst, and a healthy serving of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of [the little AU I wrote for chapter 9](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5283317/chapters/12331784) of the most recent McDanno challenge—for the “getting lost” prompt. You can read that first, if you want, but the beginning of this is that same chapter, just told from Steve’s POV instead of Danny’s. This story is completely finished, have no fear, so I’ll be posting a new chapter every couple days.
> 
> Title is from the Adele song, which has very sweet, McDanno-esque lyrics.
> 
> (Important note: DADT is a heavy topic that deserves a lot of consideration, and there are many glorious fics that handle it beautifully. [[Exhibit A](http://archiveofourown.org/works/181321).] But in this fictional world, Steve and Danny are both bi and [relatively] open about it without serious repercussion.)

Steve glared at the map and tried again to trace the route of where he was supposed to go. When the second attempt proved to be as fruitless as the first, he growled and ran a hand through his hair. Heavy footsteps echoed in the station as they came toward him, but when Steve turned around, he was not expecting the handsome blonde man walking in his direction.

“Hi, there. You need any help?”

“Just trying to figure out this damn map,” Steve said, his frustration bleeding through his words. “I thought it was just colors, but these ones have letters—”

“Yeah, the Boston subway system can be a little confusing. Where are you trying to go?”

“Copley.”

“I’m headed there, too, actually, so you can just stick with me if you want.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, a little wary, and then he shook his head and stuck out his hand. He’s been in the military too long if he’s rendered paranoid by a simple offer of help. “I’m Steve.”

“Danny,” the man said, shaking his hand. Damn, the guy had a good grip. Steve took a second, longer look and while Danny certainly was short, he had nice broad shoulders.

“So what—”

The screech of the arriving train interrupted him, and it must’ve been their train because Danny gestured at him. Steve followed obediently and sat down next to him in an empty pair of seats.

“So you obviously don’t live here.”

“What gave it away?” Steve said, deadpan, and Danny laughed.

“You here for business or pleasure, then?” he asked.

“Just for fun—I’m in the Navy, and I had an unexpected free weekend while I was at the base in Connecticut. This is the nearest big city that I haven’t been to, so here I am. Do you live here?”

“No, I actually live in Hawaii.”

“Whoa, no way!” Steve said, his eyes wide. “I grew up there.”

“Really? I don’t like it that much.”

Steve curled his lip in distaste, and Danny laughed. “Are you insane? How can anyone not like Hawaii?”

“Eh,” Danny said, shrugging. “Too much sand, too hot, I don’t really like the beach. Annnnd you’re judging me right now, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he said honestly. “But you seem like a nice guy otherwise, so I’m gonna try to give you another chance.”

“Wow, how magnanimous of you,” Danny said with a wry twist to his mouth. “Where do you live?”

“Uh, nowhere, really—at least nowhere permanent. The Navy keeps me pretty busy, so I mostly just bounce around from place to place.”

“And what do you do in the Navy?”

“I was a SEAL, and now it’s mostly Naval Intelligence.”

“Wow. That sounds...dangerous.”

“It’s fun, though,” Steve said with a grin. “What do you do?”

The intercom crackled then, announcing that they’ve arrived at Copley, and Steve followed Danny off the train and outside. “What are you up to this afternoon?” he asked, hoping that it sounded innocent enough. But truthfully, he was a little captivated by Danny’s blue eyes and his attitude, and he really hoped that this wasn’t the end of their interaction.

“Uh, nothing, really. This is my first time in the city, so I was just going to wander around, do the Freedom Trail or something. What about you?”

“Same. I really want to see the USS Constitution at the old Navy yard. Do you wanna, uh, hang out? Or are you meeting somebody or anything?”

“Sure,” Danny said, and Steve tried not to let his excitement show on his face. “I mean, you probably need me to keep from getting lost, anyway.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “The big park is that way, right?”

“Surprisingly, yes, you’re right,” Danny said, and danced out of the way when Steve tried to sock him in the arm.

Finally, Steve got Danny to admit that he was a cop. “Are you with HPD?” he asked.

“Kinda. I was, but the governor just started this new state task force, and the guy who’s in charge picked me to be on it.”

Steve’s breath hitched—the paranoia was back and in full-force this time. “John McGarrett?”

Danny stopped and tilted his head, staring at Steve. “How the hell did you know that?”

“That’s my dad.”

“Holy shit!” Danny said with a little chuckle. “No way, that’s insane. So you’re the famous Steve McGarrett.”

Steve furrowed his brow—how did Danny know who he was? “Huh?” he asked, inarticulately.

“Your dad talks about you all the time. _Commander McGarrett, the SEAL_. I feel like I should have recognized you, but I’ve only seen a picture of you as a kid.”

Steve blinked, having trouble reconciling this information from Danny with what he knew about his relationship with his dad. “Wait, what?”

“I feel like there’s more to this that I don’t know,” Danny said, his lip between his teeth, but Steve got the impression that he wasn’t going to press him for more information, thank god.

“Yeah. It’s—never mind. Do you know the name of the big park?”

“Yeah, Boston Common,” Danny said. He clearly chose to ignore the abrupt, obvious change of subject, and Steve breathed a silent sigh of relief. “And it’s right across that street.”

Steve nodded and led the way. They sat by the pond, and Steve laughed when Danny told him about the gay swans. “Do you have kids?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Danny said. His smile broadened even more, which Steve didn’t know was possible. “Grace, she’s eight.”

Steve awkwardly asked if Danny had a “partner”—he’s pretty sure Danny saw right through that one—but he just shook his head.

“My ex-wife moved to Hawaii with Grace after we got divorced, and I followed.”

“Oh,” Steve said, blinking. He kinda thought that they were maybe doing a _thing_ here—not that Steve has had a whole lot of experience with _things_ —but maybe not if Danny had an ex-wife? “You were married.”

“Yup,” Danny said. Steve startled as Danny laid a warm hand on his thigh, but it was only there for a second as Danny leaned on him to stand up.

Well, maybe he had a chance after all.

Steve commented on Danny’s navigation skills as he led them to the USS Constitution, though he quickly forgot all teasing when he spotted the beautiful ship docked in the harbor. “Whoa! Man, that’s cool.”

“That big boat?” Danny said, and Steve could maybe forgive his playful ignorance since he was standing there, so handsome with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Yes, Danny, _that big boat_ is very cool. In the 1790s, when the Navy was created, they built six frigates, and this is one of them. It’s the only one left.”

Danny finally admitted that the ship was, in fact, pretty awesome, and he indulged Steve as they took the tour, asking him lots of questions about his time in the service that for some reason, Steve was eager to answer. Except for when he had to say something was classified, which was fun in its own way because of the way it made Danny groan and rant about who knows what—after only a couple hours, Steve was already getting pretty good at knowing when he needed to pay attention.

On their way out, Steve paused to get one last look at the ship. “So, about my dad,” he said, keeping his gaze pointedly on the water. He had no idea why he wanted to tell Danny more, but what the hell.

“Yeah?”

“When I was a teenager, my mom was killed.”

“I knew she had died, but John’s never talked about it and I didn’t know when it had happened,” Danny said, and when Steve finally turned toward him, there was genuine remorse in his eyes. “I’m really sorry, Steve.”

“Thanks. After…it was like my dad just couldn’t handle being around us, so he sent me and my sister away.”

“Fuck.”

Well, that’s the whole story in a nutshell, Steve thought with a harsh laugh. “Yeah. Anyway, we haven’t talked all that much since then, and I haven’t really been home.”

Danny was silent for several long seconds, and Steve could tell that he wanted to say something. “I know it’s not my place,” he said finally, “so feel free to tell me to fuck off. But John loves you so much, and he’s so proud of you. And as a dad, I can tell you—the desire to protect your kid can make you do crazy shit, and I don’t think that feeling ever goes away. I’m not saying what he did was right, at all, but I bet it would help if you talked to him and tried to figure all this out.”

Steve tried to suppress the instantaneous reaction that bubbled up in him whenever his dad was mentioned—deny and deflect, at all costs—and instead, tried to really consider what Danny said. Danny knew his dad a little bit, plus, he was a father himself. Maybe Steve should listen and try to get this settled, once and for all. “Maybe I will. I have some leave saved up.”

“You should,” Danny said with a small smile as he shifted his weight toward Steve. “Plus, this guy I know tells me that Hawaii is really nice.”

Steve laughed and at the same time stepped up closer to Danny, taking a deep breath and bracing himself. “Come have dinner with me,” he said, unable to keep the words from falling out of his mouth. Thankfully, Danny grinned.

“Okay, so was this your whole mission for the day? Pretend to look lost and wait for some guy to come to save you?”

“Oh, I’m not picky,” Steve said, pulling a mock-serious face. “It could have been a girl.”

“Just for that, _you’re_ buying dinner,” Danny said, laughing.

“Deal. And for the record,” he said as he cleared his throat, “I really was lost. You were a pleasant surprise.”

“Oh, what a sweet talker,” Danny said dryly, but his eyes were twinkling. “Come on, I’ll find us a restaurant.”

Steve followed Danny’s lead, literally, and they soon found themselves in some Italian restaurant in the North End, so tiny that their knees automatically knocked under the small table. “You want a bottle of wine?” Danny asked, looking at Steve when their waiter came around.

“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “Anything is fine.”

Danny ordered a bottle of red, and after their glasses were poured, he lifted his glass and gestured toward Steve. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” he said, clinking it obediently with his own. “So how is it?”

“I’m usually more of a beer guy,” Danny admitted. “But this is pretty good.”

Steve laughed and nodded. “Me too. So did you order wine just to impress me, then?” he asked, leaning back in his chair and trying to hide his smirk.

“No,” Danny said, but Steve could see the slight flush of his cheeks, even in the dim light. “Really. It just felt like a wine-type of occasion, that’s all.”

“Mm-hmm. So what are you gonna get?” Steve asked, peering over his menu at Danny.

“Lasagna,” he said, smiling broadly and patting his stomach. “It won’t be as good as my mom’s, but it will still remind me of home, at least.”

“Where are you from?” Steve asked curiously.

“Jersey,” Danny said proudly, and then he pointed at Steve. “And don’t even try with the jokes, I’ve heard them all, every single one of ‘em.”

“Okay,” Steve said, stretching his legs out and tangling his feet with Danny’s. “I’ll be nice, I promise.”

“I mean, it’s not your tropical paradise or anything, but it’s home.”

“A-ha! You admitted that Hawaii is paradise.”

“To some people, maybe,” Danny said mulishly, and Steve laughed. “That’s why I’m here, actually. Grace and I were visiting home, and she’s spending the weekend with some of her family on her mother’s side. I’d never been to Boston before, so here I am.”

Danny ordered the lasagna, as promised, and Steve picked something with fish and pasta that sounded good—he wasn’t too familiar with the intricacies of Italian cuisine.

“So how long have you been in the Navy?” Danny asked after their food had come to their table.

“Forever,” he answered with a laugh. “I went to Annapolis, so since I was 18. Have you always been a cop?”

“Yup,” Danny said, nodding. “I went to the academy right after college, and it didn’t take long before I made detective.”

“Do you like it?”

“I do, it’s definitely what I was meant to do, you know?” he said, and Steve nodded. He was familiar with the feeling. “It fucking sucked moving from Jersey to Hawaii, though. I got called a _haole_ every damn day, and it seemed like the whole department hated me.”

“Yeah,” Steve said with a wince. “It’s kind of an insular community, that can be pretty rough. Lots of people called me _haole_ , too, even though I was born there.”

“I think it’ll be better on the task force, though, or at least I hope so. How’s your fish?” he asked, gesturing with his fork at Steve’s plate.

“It’s really good. How about your lasagna? Not as good as your mom’s?”

“No, most definitely not,” he said, scowling down at his defenseless lasagna. “It’s still pretty good, though.”

Steve paid for dinner, as promised, although Danny protested, and he had to snatch the bill right out of his hands. They stepped outside, and Steve shivered against the sudden chill in the air as he turned to face Danny. “So…”

“You, uh, you wanna get a drink?” Danny asked, biting his lip. “Looks like there’s a bar right down there.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Steve said with a smile. He certainly wasn’t ready for this night to be over, and thankfully, it seemed like Danny wasn’t either.

It was crowded, but they squeezed in at the end of the bar, pressed together from ankle to shoulder with Danny between Steve and the wall. “Scotch and soda,” Danny said, when they finally got the bartender’s attention, and Steve nodded.

“I’ll have one of those, too.”

“So, any more family drama I should know about?” Danny asked. “Siblings, crazy estranged cousins, et cetera?”

“Just one sister,” Steve said, gazing down into his drink with a sigh. “Mary, she’s in LA.”

“Going by that real morose, brooding look you got going on right now, I’m going to guess that it’s not all sunshine and roses there, either.”

“No, it’s not. Mary and I got split up when we left Hawaii. She was always kind of the wilder one, anyway, which seemed to get worse after, well, after everything happened. We don’t talk much, and I think she’s even angrier with at Dad than I am. But anyway,” Steve said as he shook his head, not wanting memories of Mary to dampen his mood right now. “What about you? Siblings?”

“Yup, three of ‘em, all younger. One brother, two sisters.”

“They all in Jersey?”

“Yeah, or in the area, anyway.”

“You miss them?”

“Definitely. I mean, we tortured each other when we were kids, but we’re all close now. Man, it sucks living so far away. But it’s worth it for Grace.”

Steve drained his drink and smiled automatically at Danny’s warm eyes. He wanted to ask more about Grace and why Danny was in Hawaii, but he wasn’t sure if that was too personal. Instead he just leaned more into where his shoulder was pressing against Danny’s and rested his hand on Danny’s knee. He certainly wasn’t drunk, but after half a bottle of wine and a little scotch, he was just a bit loose around the edges, pleasantly so. “Hey, let’s get out of here.”

Danny pulled out his wallet with a smirk, shaking his head at Steve’s objections, and tossed a couple of bills onto the bar. “You bought dinner, it’s only fair.”

Steve led Danny through the bar with a light hand on his back and held the door open so Danny could step outside first. He racked his brain for what to do next—how he could extend this further—but it turned out he didn’t have to worry about it because Danny curled his warm hand around the nape of Steve’s neck, tugged his head down, and kissed him, right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Steve inhaled sharply in surprise but recovered quickly, sneaking an arm around Danny’s waist and kissing him lightly for several long seconds before pulling back. “You should come back. With me, I mean, to my hotel. If you, uh, if you want to.”

“Is this you trying to be smooth?” Danny asked, laughter seeping through his words, but Steve just grinned, slung an arm over his shoulders, and guided him toward where he thought the nearest subway station was.

“Come on.” Danny didn’t need to know that his nickname was Smooth Dog, and he _really_ didn’t need to know that the nickname was a complete joke when it came to people who he really liked, few and far between that they were.

“Tell you what,” Danny said as he slipped his arm around Steve’s waist. “I’ll come back to your hotel if you can actually _get us_ back to your hotel.”

“Challenge accepted,” Steve said instantly. If a night with Danny was on the line, then he would do this the easy way. He raised his free arm to flag down a cab, but Danny reached across Steve’s body to yank his arm down, laughing.

“Nope. Not gonna work, sailor.”

“Fine,” he said with a heavy sigh, trying to sound put-upon. With Danny needling him the whole way, he managed to get them to the correct station, on the correct train, and off at the correct stop.

Steve looked up in surprise when they reached street level and were faced with driving rain. Danny stepped out from under the overhang, and Steve watched hungrily as the rain quickly soaked him, turning his clothes even more form-fitting than they were before. He turned around when Steve didn’t follow and propped his hands on his hips. “Don’t tell me that a Navy guy is afraid of a little rain.”

Steve huffed out a little laugh, surprising himself, and grabbed Danny’s outstretched hand. He felt like a little kid as they jogged the few blocks from the T to his hotel, holding hands and dodging puddles. Danny was smiling and blinking through the rain, with loose strands of blond hair hanging down into his eyes, and Steve couldn’t take his eyes off of him—so much so that he unknowingly stepped right into a deep puddle, cursing up a storm while Danny just snorted and held his hand tighter.

Steve was breathless with laughter by the time they stumbled through the door of his hotel room, and all he could do with it was press Danny up against the wall by the door and hold him there with his weight. He dipped his head down and pressed their lips together, the kiss starting gentle and then not so much as he searched out the warmth of Danny’s mouth, in stark contrast to their chilled skin. Steve lapped up the heat greedily and slid his hand into Danny’s wet hair as Danny yanked at his shirt to untuck it.

Steve gasped as Danny’s cold hands smoothed up his back, and he took advantage of the opportunity to thrust his tongue into Steve’s mouth. “Hey, hey,” he said, smiling into the kiss. “You got a shower in this place? I’m freezing.”

“Yeah,” Steve breathed. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

He walked them into the bathroom without dislodging his lips from Danny’s, all the while fumbling along the wall for the light switch. He flicked on only one of the lights, leaving the bathroom partially shrouded in shadows, and reached his arm into the shower to flip the water on hot. Danny undid Steve’s shirt in the process, and Steve kissed him again, his hands on Danny’s face as Danny stroked up and down his bare torso.

Part of him wanted to slow down, take his time—whether this was his only time with Danny or the first of many, he wanted to remember it—but the other part just needed Danny naked as fast as possible, memories be damned. Steve compromised by quickly working on Danny’s shirt buttons and then forcing himself to step back from their kiss, his hands braced on Danny’s shoulders, just to look.

Danny’s shirt hung open, showing off a delightfully hairy torso, with dark blonde fuzz covering the muscles of his chest and his abs. He grumbled, clearly uncomfortable with the attention, and reached for Steve again to push the shirt off his shoulders. Steve let it fall to the ground, forgotten, and focused his attentions on Danny’s belt. One hand strayed up to Danny’s chest and then his neck, pulling him in for another kiss.

“ _Fuck_ , Steve,” Danny murmured against his mouth, and Steve groaned in agreement.

They were not coordinated enough to have four hands in between them, working at belts and buttons and zippers, so Steve pushed Danny’s hands away. “Me first,” he said, but the words were lost on a moan when Danny’s thumbs busied themselves with Steve’s nipples.

Steve managed to take care of Danny’s pants in spite of the distraction, shoving them and his boxers down to his thighs. He held Danny’s hips in his hands, fitting his thumbs into the grooves, and swallowed hard. God, he was… _sturdy_ was the first word that came to Steve’s mind. He was shaped so nicely and obviously strong, with a thick, dusky cock that jutted out proudly. Steve shifted his hands back to cup Danny’s ass, the one he’d been noticing all day, and it was as firm and tight in his hands as it had looked in his pants. He couldn’t wait to get a proper look at it, but as he tried to spin Danny around, he shook his head and held himself in place.

“My turn now,” Danny said with a grin, breaking Steve out of his reverie. He unclenched his fingers from around Danny’s hips and moved them to his shoulders instead as Danny worked at his fly. “A _button fly_? Seriously, Steve, come on.”

“Too complicated for you there, Danny?”

Danny growled, doubling his pace, and soon yanked the pants down to Steve’s thighs. He stepped out of his pants and slid Danny’s shirt all the way off at the same time, leaving them both naked and staring at each other in the middle of the bathroom. They smacked together in their haste, and Steve huffed a laugh as they rearranged their faces to actually kiss. Steve had goose bumps, even though Danny was hot against his front and there were wisps of steam coming from the shower, and he shivered when Danny used his nails to scratch lightly up the back of his thigh.

Steve was hard as a rock and really needed to get this show on the road, so he shoved Danny gently into the shower and smiled as he hissed and danced out of the spray when the hot water hit his chilled skin. He silently thanked himself for choosing a nice hotel, one that happened to have a fancy bathroom with a glass and stone shower that was plenty big enough for two. He watched Danny for a long second—the water coursed down his body, darkening his hair and accentuating the cut of his muscles—and then inhaled sharply as Danny pulled him in and pushed him up against the rough wall. It was cold at his back, uncomfortably so, but Danny’s hot mouth on his made up for it.

Steve’s hands roamed, trying to memorize the curve of Danny’s shoulders and the cut of his torso. “Come here,” he muttered lowly, and Danny stepped forward the extra inch until they were plastered together. He braced his ass against the wall and pushed his upper body harder against Danny, forcing his head back to ravage his mouth. Danny’s hands were sneaky, traveling from the sensitive skin of Steve’s inner thigh to his ribs, and Steve nearly stumbled as he reached out blindly for the soap and drizzled some of the gel onto his fingers. He slid his slick hand down Danny’s stomach and pumped his dick once, making him gasp into the kiss. He turned his head to rest his forehead against Steve’s collarbone and panted. “Goddamn it, Steve.”

Steve grinned against Danny’s temple and lowered his head to nip at any skin that he could find. Danny momentarily tangled his fingers with Steve’s to steal some of the suds and with no build-up at all, gripped his cock hard. Steve squeaked into Danny’s mouth—he’d prefer to deny it, but it really was a squeak—and spread his legs a bit to make kissing easier. Their height difference didn’t allow for much synchronicity while they were upright, but Steve couldn’t care less as they stroked each other. Every inch of their bodies was pressed together, and he used his free hand to knead at Danny’s ass. All the sensations were hitting him in a rush, and each drop of hot water hitting his skin was an extra pinprick of arousal.

Steve desperately wanted this to last a little bit longer, but if he wasn’t careful it was going to be over in about 15 seconds. So he switched their positions and spun Danny around so that his front was pressed against the wall, pacifying his protests with a biting kiss to his neck and a hand around his dick. Temporarily mollified, Danny sighed and braced his forehead against the wall as he reached one hand back to grip Steve’s thigh. It took him a minute, but Steve got a pretty good rhythm going with his hand on Danny’s cock and his own thrusting.

He squeezed Danny’s hip harder with a grunt as he watched his own dick sliding through the crack of his ass. God, that was a hot image, and Steve tried to memorize it before he climaxed with a little yell, spattering Danny’s low back and the top of his ass. He kissed the back of Danny’s neck and watched his come drip down onto the shower floor.

“Babe, come on,” Danny groaned, thrusting weakly into Steve’s loose grip. Steve tried to take a deep breath through his shuddering as he turned Danny around again. He held him against the wall with his weight, kissed him aggressively, and set a ruthless pace with his hand. It was only several long seconds before Danny wrenched his mouth away and came with a low, drawn-out moan against Steve’s neck as he spilled over his hand.

They stood there for a minute braced against each other, letting the water wash everything away as they came down, and after Steve turned off the shower, all he could hear was the dripping of the water and their soft pants. And then Danny groaned, shattering the quiet. “I’m cold.”

Steve laughed and reached one arm out of the shower, grimacing at the shock of the cool air, to grab a big fluffy towel from the stack. He returned to their warm, steamy cocoon and slung the towel over Danny’s back, scrubbing it over his shoulders and pulling it up over his head. “Bitch, bitch, bitch,” he said fondly, but Danny just glared at him from under the towel.

Steve snatched the towel back and dried himself off perfunctorily before handing it back to Danny and stepping out of the shower. He didn’t bother with clothes and just fell right into the king-sized bed, wiggling around a bit to enjoy the tingle of the cool sheets on his warm skin. When he lifted his gaze to see Danny leaning in the bathroom doorway, still gloriously naked, he held out a hand. “C’mere.”

“Did you just get the sheets wet?” Danny asked, though he moved toward the bed anyway and crawled toward Steve. “That’s terrible bed etiquette.”

“Only a little bit,” Steve said as he yanked Danny closer and rolled on top of him. Danny was chuckling, but he was also kissing back eagerly and sweeping his hands down Steve’s back to his ass.

Something nudged against his leg, and Steve laughed. “Jeez, how old _are_ you—19?” he asked as he slipped his hand up Danny’s thigh and curved his palm around his already-hardening cock.

“Not with this hairline, buddy,” Danny said, smiling ruefully. “I’m 34.”

“Me too, but I don’t have _this_ kind of reaction time anymore.”

Danny said something in response, but Steve didn’t hear it because he was halfway under the covers already, making his way down Danny’s torso with sloppy, open-mouthed kisses. He thoroughly enjoyed Danny’s yelp of surprise when he closed his mouth around the head of his dick.

“Shit, Steve,” Danny yelped. He shoved the blankets down, making Steve shiver at the blast of cool air, and used the other hand to run his fingers through the short hairs at the base of Steve’s head.

Steve didn’t want to waste any time teasing—not _this_ time, anyway—so he immediately launched into hard, wet suction that left Danny gasping. He was clearly trying to keep his hips still, but Steve flung an arm across them anyway because there’s nothing less sexy than choking. Danny was making quite the racket up there, all little groans and curses and recitations of Steve’s name, and it washed over Steve as he got lost in the taste and the smell and the feel of Danny, which he didn’t want to forget.

Danny had gone quiet and his dick swelled in Steve’s mouth, so he pulled off, mouthed at Danny’s balls, and two strokes later, Danny was coming with a low whine all over his stomach. Steve leaned his forehead against Danny’s hip and tried to get his breath back—he was definitely hard now. Danny’s hands were on his shoulders, tugging him up for a quick kiss before he kept pulling, maneuvering Steve so that his knees were straddling Danny’s chest.

Steve exhaled noisily and tried to relax the tension in his body, letting Danny take control. He craned his neck to mouth around the base of Steve’s dick, and when he moved torturously slowly toward the head, open-mouthed kisses for every inch of the sensitive skin, Steve couldn’t stop the little whimper that escaped. Shifting his weight on his knees, Steve braced one hand on the wall and used the other to stroke gently through Danny’s hair. He forced himself to go slow, with shallow thrusts, though Danny’s hands on his ass were firm and unyielding. The friction of his lips was amazing, and his tongue wouldn’t quit, flicking and lapping in an unpredictable pattern that seemed designed to drive Steve crazy.

Danny’s blue eyes were locked on his, and Steve found that he couldn’t look away. It was intense, and another rush of arousal burned through him, one that didn’t have anything to do with Danny’s mouth on his dick. “Fuck,” he choked out, tightening his grip on Danny’s hair. “I’m close.”

He moved back a little to sit back on his heels, and Danny let him go, releasing Steve’s cock with a dirty pop. His hand immediately replaced his mouth and that fast, slick stroke, complete with Danny’s thumb rubbing hard right below the head, sent Steve right over the edge. He had the sense of mind to release Danny’s hair and grab a fistful of sheet instead, twisting it hard in his fingers as he came in long streaks across Danny’s chest. “Oh, fuck, fuck, _fuck_.”

He pulled back farther, his legs shaky, and flopped down next to Danny, throwing a leg over his thighs. Danny’s face was flushed, his chest heaving, his hair an utter mess. “Your hair looks ridiculous,” Steve said, with obvious affection in his voice.

Danny heard it, too, because there was a smile that accompanied the roll of his eyes. “All of this is your fault,” he said, gesturing up and down at himself, “so you can go get me a towel.”

Steve snorted but got up obediently and padded to the bathroom, returning to the bed with a warm, damp washcloth. Danny started to sit up, but Steve easily pushed him back down as he straddled him. It was quiet, save for Danny’s audible swallow, and Steve studiously avoided his eyes as he cleaned off his chest and his torso. He tossed the washcloth in the direction of the bathroom and sat there for a second on top of Danny, tracing his index finger down the cut of his hip.

“Do you want me to, uh, go?” Danny asked, thumbing awkwardly toward the door, though his lazy sprawl on the bed signaled that he didn’t really want to. Steve just snorted, rolled his eyes, and rearranged their positions so that he was flat on his back, with Danny draped over his chest and Steve’s arm tucked around his shoulders.

“Does that answer your question?”

“The question of whether or not you’re a cuddle monster, yes, yes, it does.”

“Just shut up and go to sleep.”


	2. Chapter Two

Steve woke up to a whole bevy of strange, unfamiliar sensations—he resurfaced slowly, he was well-rested, he was naked, and he was cuddling someone warm. He tensed for a second and then relaxed just as quickly as it all came back to him. Oh, yeah, _Danny_.

They had switched positions sometime during the night, and now he was spooned up behind Danny with his arm slung over his waist and their legs tangled. Steve took a deep breath, careful not to jostle him, and buried his nose in Danny’s hairline, wallowing in a happy feeling for once. He’d had his fair share of sex, but he had no recollection of being this _comfortable_ with anyone, particularly so quickly. Something about Danny’s prickly attitude really resonated with him—the blue eyes and tight ass probably didn’t hurt either—and for once in his life, he actually felt the desire to maybe be vulnerable with someone.

“I can _feel_ you staring, babe, and it’s a little creepy,” Danny said suddenly, his voice scratchy, and Steve startled.

“Hey, I wasn’t staring,” he said, though he knew it was a thin protest and shifted to distraction instead. He was hard, obviously, and could no longer suppress the urge to grind against Danny’s ass. He slid his hips forward, just a nudge, and when Danny groaned, Steve snuck his hand forward, curling his hand around Danny’s hip down to his dick. He was hard, too, so Steve grinned and then pushed and prodded at Danny until they were facing each other.

“Morning.”

“Hey, you big goof,” Danny said, but he was smiling, too, and he leaned in for a firm kiss.

Steve took what he was given and ran with it, deepening the kiss as he ran his hand down Danny’s side, settling on his ass. Danny groaned, thrusting forward to brush their dicks together, and twisted his legs with Steve’s. The build-up was slower this time, more luxurious and less frantic, and Steve got lost in it as they ravaged each other’s mouths and Danny’s hands mapped out every single sensitive spot on his body.

Steve’s overwhelming arousal kind of snuck up on him, and he decided through the haze that he needed something more than what they had been doing. He was pretty sure that he had a condom and lube tucked into a side pocket of his toiletry bag, so he shoved Danny off of him, soothing his groan with an extra kiss, as he went to investigate. He found exactly what he was looking for and stumbled back into bed, where a sleep-warm and rumpled Danny waited for him, leisurely stroking himself.

Steve enjoyed the show for a few long seconds before he handed off the condom and the little bottle of lube, closing his fingers around Danny’s to reinforce the message. Danny blinked and opened his hand. “You sure, babe?” he asked.

“Yeah—but it’s been a while,” Steve said, hoping that Danny got the _go slow and be gentle_ memo underlying his words.

Danny nodded and carefully set them aside, rolling on top of Steve and tugging him into a lush kiss. He spread his legs to make room for Danny and relaxed under the weight holding him down. It got desperate again for a minute, with his hands clenched on Danny’s ass and Danny’s fingers tugging through his hair, but then Danny sat up, straddling Steve’s hips and breathing hard. He moved back further, slicking his fingers, and Steve held his breath.

One finger was easy, though Steve gasped at the jolt of sensation, and he could feel the stretch when Danny came back with two. He was slow, unhurried as he kissed Steve and worked one, two, three fingers into him, all the while rocking his own dick gently against Steve’s thigh. After several minutes, Steve whined into Danny’s mouth—three fingers were sliding in and out easily now and he was ready. Danny got the message and sat up again, after one last hard suck against his tongue. Steve took a deep breath, focusing on the cool sheets against his back as he tried to bring his attention away from the throbbing in his dick. He’d never done it in this position before, and his eyes slid down Danny’s body as he rolled the condom on and palmed himself to add more lube.

“Danny,” he said hoarsely, suddenly overwhelmingly desperate for it, and it must’ve showed in his eyes because Danny swallowed hard and braced himself on his hand, with his fingers tucked under Steve’s shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, I gotcha,” he breathed. He kissed him again, just rocking slowly, and Steve sank into it eagerly. But the brush of his dick against his hole made him shiver, and Steve wormed his hand in between them, to try and move Danny’s dick to where it needed to be. Danny chuckled and batted his hand away, replacing it with his own. “I got it. Just relax, babe. Breathe, okay?”

And there it was, just as overwhelming as he expected. Steve blew out a long breath through his nose and closed his eyes. It burned a little, but that was good—he wanted to feel it tomorrow, and the day after that, as a tangible memory of one of the best days he’d ever had.

“God, Steve,” Danny said against Steve’s shoulder, his voice raspy and low. “You feel so fucking good.”

Steve tilted his hips up, just a little, wanting more, but Danny’s hand shot out and held him down, his thumb nestled in the groove of his hip. “Just a—just a second.”

Though his dick was throbbing and every nerve in his body was screaming for him to move, Steve inhaled greedily and tried to keep himself still. Danny timed it perfectly, and precisely when Steve exhaled again, he slid all the way home, until his hips were against Steve’s ass. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, nodding frantically.

Danny didn’t seem to be in the mood for a hard, fast fuck—thank god, since Steve wasn’t either—and Steve relaxed as he rocked more than thrusted, raining kisses over Steve’s neck and shoulders. His arousal was a low thrum beneath his skin, steady and sure rather than violent, and he tried to breathe through it. Danny eventually shifted his weight, making Steve gasp, and reached down to circle his dick, his hand damp with sweat and lube.

“Oh, fuck, Danny,” Steve ground out, as that arousal ratcheted up into high gear.

“You good, babe?” Danny asked, keeping that same maddeningly easy pace with his hips, and Steve wanted to cry or yell or choke, he wasn’t sure. So he just nodded, not quite trusting his voice and what he would say.

Danny’s hips hitched up a little, changing the angle, and nudged at that sweet spot inside of him at the same time as he tightened his grip. At the shock of pure pleasure, Steve promptly forgot his ban on speaking and started babbling incoherently. “Fuck, Danny. I need—more, you gotta give me more. Come on, please.”

Danny made his thrusts shallow, so each and every one hit Steve’s prostate, and he was going to fly apart at the seams, he was sure of it. Danny’s hand was sliding up and down Steve’s dick, torturously slow and with too little pressure to actually get him off. He wanted to reach down, bat Danny’s hand away and stroke hard, but he knew it would be better and last longer if he let him do it.

Then all of a sudden Danny’s hand stilled and he stopped the delicious pressure against his prostate, instead sliding all the way in and staying there. Steve whined in displeasure as Danny buried his head in his neck. “Just gotta—need it to last a little longer, babe. Please.”

Steve obeyed, drawing in a shaky breath even though he wanted to flip Danny over and fuck him into oblivion. This pause, this whole pace in general, was _infuriating_ but somehow also the best thing in the entire world, since it meant Steve would get to have a few more minutes of this, a few more minutes of Danny holding him together with his cock and his hands and his lips. Speaking of his lips, he was kissing him again, and Steve pushed up into it eagerly, thankful for the distraction for a second. He slid a hand into Danny’s hair and held him there as he thoroughly plundered his mouth, making it sloppy and heated.

“Please,” he whispered against Danny’s lips. He could see that Danny’s arm was shaking where he was braced on it.

“Yeah?” he asked, his voice hoarse and his eyes bright. Steve could only nod in the face of that intensity, and mercifully Danny started moving again, a little faster this time. His thrusts were still shallow but faster, and his hand on Steve’s dick moved with more intent and a harder grip. It was an assault on his senses and Steve stopped trying to control it, instead letting his body float along with the current.

Steve shouted suddenly, his orgasm taking him by surprise, and he shot hard all over Danny’s hand. He clenched down involuntarily, and Danny let out a strangled grunt as he jerked forward, chanting something against Steve’s neck that he couldn’t hear through the roaring in his ears. Then he was still, and somewhere Steve found the energy to stroke up and down his back.

Danny levered himself up carefully and stumbled into the bathroom on shaky legs, returning with a washcloth in a perfect mirror of last night. When he was done, he settled back down with a content groan and pulled Steve over to him. “Mhmgrp,” he said incoherently, and Steve grinned.

“Yeah?” he said, propping himself up on one elbow so he could better see Danny’s face.

“Oh, yeah.” Danny’s smile was contented and lazy, and Steve couldn’t do anything but kiss it.

“Hey, you hungry?” Steve asked, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Danny’s stomach grumbled right under his hand, as if on cue.

“Are you plying me? With sex and then food? Because I gotta tell you—it’s working.”

Steve laughed and reached over Danny for the phone to call room service and place a big order for breakfast. He’d probably want to cry when he looked at the bill later and realized that he paid $12 for a bowl of oatmeal or something, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He and Danny lounged, mumbling and dozing curled up together, until the food arrived. Danny forced them to eat in bed, a luxury that Steve hadn’t taken since…ever, actually. “You’re getting crumbs in the bed,” Steve complained, moving Danny’s plate closer to him in a vain attempt to catch them.

“Oh, really?” Danny said, around a mouthful of toast. “That’s the beauty of being in a hotel, babe. Crumbs are okay.”

“I just hope you don’t do that in your _real_ bed,” Steve said, leaving out the part that said he really wanted to find out.

“Ugh, pineapple,” Danny said, picking out the pieces in their fruit bowl and depositing them on Steve’s plate. “Ruins a perfectly good fruit salad, every time.”

“You don’t like pineapple?”

“Not really.”

“It makes your semen taste better,” Steve said, grinning as he stuffed a piece in his mouth.

“Are you complaining?” Danny asked, full of mock outrage.

Steve laughed and snatched a piece of bacon from Danny’s plate, dodging his threatening fork gestures. “No, not at all. I’m just saying.”

“I’m not sure I believe you. I think it’s all a big pineapple-related conspiracy.”

“That’s very paranoid of you.”

Eventually they were both stuffed, and Steve tried to brush most of the crumbs out of the bed before he tugged Danny close again.

“So do you think you’re actually going to come visit? I’m not asking for any kind of commitment, believe me—I’m just not in the habit of getting my hopes up for no reason.”

“I would be getting your hopes up?” Steve asked, a small smile creeping onto his face.

“Yeah, you big dork,” Danny said with a roll of his eyes, and Steve laughed.

“I definitely will come to Hawaii—I need to talk to my COs about getting leave, but I should be able to wrangle some time off.”

“Good, that’s good,” Danny said, nodding rapidly. “I’m not, uh—I’m not really sure of the etiquette here.”

Steve smiled and rolled over on top of Danny, sliding a hand into his hair and kissing him before he spoke again. “I don’t know about you, but I would love to see you again.”

Danny flipped them easily and grinned down at Steve. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, are you kidding? Have you _seen_ your ass?”

Danny groaned and rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling as he laid his weight on Steve and kissed him. “ _You’re_ an ass.”

“If you want, we can stay in touch—until I come visit, I mean.”

“Can we? Will you be overseas or something?”

“Things can always change, but I’m supposed to be stateside for a little while. So we should be able to talk and Skype and stuff.”

“I would like that,” Danny said quietly. Steve smiled and craned his neck up, capturing Danny’s lips and wrapping his arms around his back to keep him close. He kept the kiss sweet and lush, but both of them were panting nonetheless when they drew back.

“Me too.”

“I should probably go,” Danny said with a heavy sigh. “I’m taking the train back to Jersey this afternoon, and I have to go check out of my hotel. When are you going back to Connecticut?”

“Later today, but I have a car. And when are you going back to Hawaii?”

“Day after tomorrow.” Danny rolled out of bed and started picking through their pile of discarded clothes. “Shit, my phone’s dead.”

“Give me your number then,” Steve said as he stretched for his phone on the nightstand. Steve entered it carefully while he mourned the loss of all that skin as Danny dressed. He got up out of bed, still naked, and pressed a fully-dressed Danny against the wall.

“I kinda feel like a hooker,” he said, grinning, and Danny laughed.

“You better not be because there’s no way I could afford you on my salary.”

“Aw, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Steve said, deadpan.

“Well, I’ll have to work on that then,” Danny said, with genuine emotion in his eyes.

Steve framed his face with his hands and kissed him softly, careful not to start something that they couldn’t finish right now. “Bye, Danny.”

“Bye, babe. I’ll see you soon.”

“Count on it.”

Steve watched him slip out the door with a wave and sighed. He fell back down into bed, starfishing in the sheets that still smelled like Danny and sex. There was time to doze for a little bit and wallow in some memories before he had to get up.

* * *

All it took was the sight of someone in a military uniform at LAX for Danny’s thoughts to be flooded with Steve again. Man, what a great 20 hours that had been. The cynical part of him had worried that he would never hear from Steve again—that guy was too hot for him, right?—but he got a text from Steve that very night, telling him that he was back in Connecticut and asking if Danny had made it to Jersey yet. They’d been texting off and on since then, and Danny had never felt so much like a lovesick teenager. He didn’t really consider himself a hopeless romantic, but…hell, maybe this wasn’t hopeless.

“Can I get some water before we get on the plane, Danno?”

Danny pushed all thoughts of Steve out of his head as he turned to Grace and smiled. He could _not_ think about sex while he was with his daughter, he just couldn’t. “You bet, monkey. Let’s go in this place right here—I want to get a magazine anyway.”

His phone buzzed in his hand while they were waiting in line to board, and he glanced down at it. _That breakfast cost me $60, by the way._

Danny chuckled and responded easily—his goofy thumbs had improved markedly just in the past 24 hours. _Wow, glad I put out so much, then. Gotta pay my way._

_Now who’s the hooker?_

_Very funny. Gotta go in a minute, boarding our flight._

_Me too. Heading to Coronado for a few weeks._

_I have no idea where that is._

_San Diego. Big Navy base._

_Have fun playing with the seals. That’s what you guys do there, right?_

_Exactly._

Danny survived the flight back to Hawaii—the cramped confines of coach were a lot more bearable with his little girl next to him—and the hell that was jet lag from a five-hour time difference. He called Steve a couple days later.

“How’s it going?” Steve asked.

“Pretty good. There’s some kind of delay with the new task force offices, or something, so I have a little more time off before this job starts. How about you? Having fun playing master and commander?”

“Oh yeah, we’re real good at it,” Steve said dryly.

“I’ll bet.”

“Do you have Grace this weekend?”

Danny sighed and toyed with a loose thread on his belt. “No, I don’t.”

“That must really suck.”

“Yeah,” Danny said, laughing hoarsely. “There’s the understatement of the year.”

“What’s your custody situation like?”

“Rachel has primary custody,” he said, clenching his jaw. “And I have her every other weekend, plus sometimes during the week. It’s terrible, but it’s all I could get during the divorce, especially considering that Rachel was moving her out here and my job situation was still in flux. But now, especially with the new task force, I think I’d have a decent shot at shared custody. Though I would really hate putting Grace through that.”

“Man,” Steve said. “That’s awful. But you shouldn’t let that stop you from trying—Grace would certainly benefit from it in the long run since you’re such a great dad.”

“How can you say that?” Danny said, huffing out a laugh. “You barely know me.”

“Yeah, but I can tell,” he said confidently.

Danny let himself smile, since Steve wasn’t there to see it. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that.”

“How—uh, how was your divorce?” Steve asked, and then he added hurriedly, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Danny said, surprising even himself with the truth. “It was pretty awful. I mean, me and Rachel…we were good at the beginning. But I guess we just weren’t _right_ , you know? We fought a lot, she hated being married to a cop, and then there was Stan.”

“Stan?”

“Yeah, _Stan_. Rachel’s new husband—they got married not long after the divorce was final, by the way—who’s filthy rich and whose fault it is that we all live on this damn rock.”

“So not your favorite person,” Steve surmised.

“No, not so much. But,” he said grudgingly, “he does seem to care about Grace, and he can obviously provide for her. So there’s that, I guess.”

“Wow.”

“Wow, what?”

“Say something nice about their ex’s new husband, just because it’s good for their daughter? Most people aren’t big enough to say that, Danny.”

“Yeah, well,” he grumbled. “You don’t hear what I say about him the rest of the time.”

Steve’s laugh was loud and rich in Danny’s ear, and he smiled in reflex.

* * *

While Steve was eating lunch, he pulled out his phone to text Danny.

_You still wanna Skype tonight?_

_Definitely. 9, my time?_

_Yeah. We have training tonight, but we should be done by then._

_Great. Talk to you later._

Steve mercifully finished training with enough time for dinner and a quick shower before he retreated to his room with his laptop. Benefit of being an officer—at least he had his own room on base, tiny and bare-bones as it was.

“Hey,” he said, smiling when Danny’s face popped up on his screen.

“Hey, babe,” he said. He appeared to be lounging in bed in a loose blue t-shirt, with one arm tucked up behind his head. “Did you survive training?”

“Yup,” Steve said, rotating his shoulder. “Not too bad tonight.”

“What are you doing out there, anyway?”

“There’s a group of us on a little break from international missions. We’ve just been training and doing intelligence work from here.”

“Wow, that sounds very exciting,” Danny said, smirking. “And I bet you can’t tell me about any of it.”

“Nope,” he said, laughing. “Most of it’s classified. How are you enjoying your break?”

“It’s pretty great. Just tying up some loose ends at HPD and getting ready for the new job. I actually—”

“Danno?”

It was a young girl’s voice, and Danny’s attention turned to something off-screen.

“Monkey? Are you okay?”

“I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep,” the voice said, and Steve had to strain to hear. “Who are you talking to?”

“Come up here,” Danny said, patting the spot next to him on the bed. “You can meet my friend Steve.”

Steve’s view of Danny jostled, and when it settled, he could see a little girl, with brown eyes and long brown hair, tucked under Danny’s arm.

“Hi,” he said, smiling automatically. He was extra-thankful that he had time to shower, so he didn’t have to meet Danny’s daughter streaked with mud and grass. “You must be Grace, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Steve,” she said, waving at him. “How do you know Danno?”

“You remember John? You met him a couple times—he works with me and he’s going to be my new boss,” Danny asked, looking down at Grace, and she nodded. “He’s Steve’s dad.”

“Who’s Danno?” Steve asked, grinning, and Grace giggled.

“When I was little, I said Danno instead of daddy or Danny. Right?”

“That’s exactly right. And she is the only one allowed to call me that,” he said, shaking his finger at Steve.

“Sure thing, Danno,” he said agreeably, and his smile broadened when Grace laughed.

“Hey!” Danny protested. “What did I just say?”

“Oh, it’s okay, Danno, Steve can call you that, too,” she said, patting his arm, and Steve laughed as Danny rolled his eyes.

“Why, thank you, Grace.”

“Do you live in Hawaii, too?” Grace asked, and Steve shook his head.

“I grew up there, but I don’t live there anymore. I’m in the Navy, and right now I’m in California.”

“What do you in the Navy?”

Steve paused and looked up at Danny for guidance—he had no idea how to sanitize his Navy experience for an eight-year-old.

“You know how I catch bad guys, Gracie?” Danny said, pitching in helpfully. “Steve does that, too, all over the world.”

Grace looked suitably impressed, and Steve tried to smile gently at her. “What do _you_ do, Grace?” he asked, making her giggle.

“I’m in the third grade.”

“Ah,” he said with a nod, “that’s a very respectable job.”

“Okay, time for all monkeys to go to bed,” Danny said, nudging Grace out of his bed and following her. He popped back into view, this time upside-down, and Steve smiled. “I’ll be back in just a sec, okay?”

“She’s cute,” Steve said, when Danny returned.

“She’s the best,” he said fondly. “The most perfect child that’s ever existed.”

“I don’t have much experience with kids,” he admitted, and Danny laughed.

“It’s okay, you can mostly just talk to them like adults. Especially Grace, she’s easy.”

“I can’t wait to meet her for real.”

* * *

Danny was just settling in with a beer to watch the Rangers game he’d recorded—and then probably fall asleep to it—when his phone vibrated against the coffee table.

_I can’t sleep._

_Why not?_

_Stressful day. Keyed up, can’t relax._

_I’m not sending you a dick pic, so don’t even ask. With my luck, I’d send it to everyone in my phone._

_That’s okay, I have a great memory._

_And what exactly are you doing with said memory?_

Danny’s phone was suspiciously silent for several minutes until it finally buzzed again.

_Sorry, hands were busy. Okay, now I think I’m relaxed enough to go to sleep. Thanks._

Danny swallowed hard and stared at the words. Jesus.

_What did you just do?_

_Oh, nothing, just relived certain things. Like how good you looked with your mouth stretched around my dick. Have fun going to sleep._

Danny groaned and shoved a hand down into his sweatpants. God, this guy was going to be the death of him.

* * *

“So who else is on your new team?”

“Chin Ho Kelly. He was—”

“Oh, he was my dad’s partner, right?”

“That is correct. Did you know him?”

“Just a little. And I broke all of his high school football records.”

“Really?” Danny said, laughing. “Let me guess, quarterback.”

“Yeah. I was pretty good.”

“Surprise, surprise,” he said sarcastically. “And his cousin, Kono. She’s pretty fresh out of the academy.”

“I _think_ I remember her,” Steve said thoughtfully, “but I’m not sure. She would have been really young.”

“She’s tough as shit, seriously. And she is crazy good with that sniper rifle, god.”

“Hmm. Should I be jealous?”

“Well, she _is_ terrifyingly beautiful, but I don’t think I—oh, wait, maybe I do go for that, considering you. But anyway, she and Chin would kill me, _together_ , and then get rid of the body and leave no evidence. So no. And she’s like 10 years younger than me, anyway.”

“I’m terrifyingly beautiful?”

“Emphasis on the terrifying.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

“Good. Are you the jealous type?”

“Uhh—” Truthfully, Steve didn’t really know because there hadn’t been many romantic partners whom he wanted to stick around. But the thought of someone else touching Danny made him want to claw his eyes out, so…

“Yeah, I’ll take that as a yes.”

Steve huffed out a laugh and smiled. “Anyone else?”

“No, that’s it. Your dad has mentioned maybe adding someone else so he doesn’t have to go in the field as much, but I don’t think he has anyone in mind.”

* * *

Danny walked into their new headquarters and looked around appreciatively—this was head and shoulders above the HPD bullpen, that’s for sure. It was still mostly a mess, with computers and equipment everywhere as they moved in, but he could tell it was going to be nice. And he even had his own office, which he’d never had in his line of work.

“Hi, John,” Danny said as his new boss stepped out of his office.

“Hey, there, Danny,” he said with a smile as he came over to him. “How was your break? You went up to Jersey, right?”

“It was great,” he said, nodding. Figuring that it was just better to rip the bandage off, he continued, “I met Steve.”

John’s eyes widened, almost comically, as he stopped in his tracks. “Steve, my son Steve? Where? Is he here?”

“No, when I was out of town. I spent a weekend in Boston,” Danny explained.

“How in the world…”

“We just ran into each other on the train, started talking, and it didn’t take long for us to, you know, figure out the connection,” he said, gesturing between them.

“Wow,” John said, blinking as he swiped his hand over his face. “What was he doing there?”

“He said he was spending some time at the base in Connecticut.”

“Did he, uh, look—did he seem good?” John asked, and Danny nodded.

“Yeah, he did.”

“Did he, you know, did he tell you, uh,” he said, scratching at his cheek. Danny figured he was probably referring to his relationship with Steve, which John had portrayed as warmer than it obviously was.

“He told me that you two aren’t as close as he wishes that you were,” Danny said carefully. He didn’t really expect to be so involved in his boss’s personal life, and he wasn’t sure exactly how to handle this.

“He said that?”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “And he said he might be able to get some leave soon and come to Hawaii.”

“Really?” John said, his eyes wide, and Danny nodded. Then John winced and seemed to realize the general awkwardness of the situation. “I don’t mean to put you in the middle of anything, Danny, I’m sorry. I don’t know if you two are keeping in touch or anything, but if you are, you should tell him that I’d really like that—if he came home.”

“I will.”

Overall, Danny thought that went pretty well, and he told Steve as much when he called that night.

“I told your dad,” he said, jumping right into the topic at hand after they said hello.

“Really?”

“I mean, I didn’t tell him that we spent an entire night in your hotel room fucking,” Danny said dryly, and he smirked when Steve groaned at that. “But yeah—I told him that we met.”

“And what, uh, what did he say?”

“Well, he was surprised. But he seemed happy. He asked how you were, and when I told him that you might come back, he said that he would really like that.”

“He did?” Steve asked, his voice so low that Danny could barely hear it through the phone.

“He did,” he confirmed.

“I have a meeting with my CO tomorrow, and I’ll ask him about taking some leave.”


	3. Chapter Three

As promised, near the end of his meeting, when Captain Wexler asked if there was anything else that they needed to discuss, Steve took a deep breath. “If possible, sir, I would like to take some leave soon,” he said.

The tall man narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “You’ve never asked for leave before, Commander—we usually have to force you to take it.”

“Yes, well, some things have changed, and I’d like to visit some family in Hawaii.”

He nodded, unleashing a little smile. “Let me talk to some folks and see what we can do. If I don’t see you by the end of the day, come find me, you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Steve barely managed to concentrate for the rest of the day—he never imagined that he would be so excited to take time _away_ from the Navy. He did like the thought of maybe patching things up with his dad, but more than anything, he wanted to see Danny so bad. The depth of emotion that he felt scared him a little—more like a lot, to be honest—so he mainly tried not to think about it too hard. Maybe it would be easier to face when they were together.

He almost ran smack dab into Captain Wexler while he was grabbing some dinner, and he scrambled to stand at attention. “Take four months, Steve,” the man said, with no preamble whatsoever.

“Uh, four, sir?” he asked, blinking. He had expected maybe eight weeks, at the most.

“You’ve been working hard for a long time, son, take some time to relax.”

“Thank you, sir, I really appreciate that.”

“Finish up your duties, and then you’re outta here in two weeks, you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” he said with a nod, saluting sharply.

Steve hastily packed some dinner to go, and he pulled his phone out to call Danny the second he got into his room. “Four months, Danny,” he said breathlessly as soon as Danny picked up, too excited to bother with pleasantries.

“Wait, what? You’re taking leave in four months?”

“No, I _get_ four months. Four months off, starting in two weeks.”

“Wow,” Danny said, around a deep breath, and Steve suddenly felt unsure. Sure, he and Danny had been talking every day and he thought they were on the same page, but maybe they weren’t?

“I mean...I can still, uh—you still want me to come to Hawaii, right?” he asked, cursing himself for his own awkwardness.

“Of _course_ I want you to come, you goof,” Danny said immediately, and the tight knot in Steve’s chest loosened. “Are you going to tell your dad?”

“I, uh—I don’t…”

Danny laughed, sounding fond, and Steve braced his forehead against his hand. “I’ll tell him. But I will not be acting as a go-between when you’re here, you got that?”

“Yeah,” Steve said, clearing his throat. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Where are you going to stay?”

“I don’t know,” he said with an exhale.

“Well,” Danny started, sounding quieter than usual, “you are more than welcome to stay with me.”

Steve smiled. “Let’s plan on that, then.”

* * *

_You still awake?_ he texted Danny one night. Considering that it was a weeknight as well as after 11 in Hawaii, he figured he should check before he called. The phone rang in his hand about 20 seconds later, and he smiled as he slid his thumb across the screen to answer it.

“Hey, Danno.”

“What’d I tell you about that?” he said, but the complaint sounded half-hearted as well as slightly breathless.

“That you love when I say it? And, by the way, what are you doing?” Steve asked suspiciously.

“What does it—oh, _fuck_ —what does it sound like I’m doing?” Danny said, choking the words out around a moan, and Steve’s mouth dried up.

“Please tell me that you’re jerking off and not dying or something,” Steve said as his dick hardened instantly in his pants.

“Of course I’m jerking off,” he snapped. “What perfect timing you have.”

“Jesus _Christ_ , Danny,” he whined, and Danny chuckled. Steve scrabbled at his pants, which were getting tighter and tighter with each heavy breath in his ear. He only had the patience to push them down to mid-thigh, and he nearly tripped as he hobbled into the bathroom for a squirt of lotion. He crash-landed back onto the bed, rearranging himself on the pillows so he was comfortable.

“Hang on, hang on, let me put you on speaker,” Danny said, followed by a few seconds of rustling.

“Why do you need both hands, Danny?” he asked, gripping the phone tight.

“Just use your imagination, Steven,” he said, and Steve’s eyes slid shut.

He gripped his dick loosely, shivering from the shock of the cool lotion, and tried to pretend that it was Danny’s hand instead. Danny’s litany of groans and curses washed over him while he conjured up familiar images from their night together to accompany the dirty soundtrack. Steve thought about that night a lot, of course, but this was the closest he had come to replicating the feeling. And Danny must have been telling the truth and doing this before Steve called because after only a minute or so, he shouted and panted into the phone. “Fuck, Danny,” he said, arching his back as he moved his hand faster.

“Are you close?” Danny asked, still gasping a little as he came down from his orgasm.

“Yeah,” Steve grunted.

“Then stop. Take your hand off.”

Steve reacted instantly to his harsh order and obeyed, his eyes open wide. “What the hell?”

“You wanna listen to me?” he asked lowly, and Steve shivered.

“Yeah, of course I’ll listen to you,” he said, swallowing hard. Hell, with that deep, gravelly voice, he would be happy listening to Danny reciting a damn operations manual. “As soon as you tell me why the fuck my hand isn’t on my dick right now.”

Danny laughed. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that anticipation makes it better? What am I talking about—you’re some crazy Navy guy, of course not.”

“Hey, I can be patient,” Steve complained. He could talk about planning missions for months or living in a jungle for three days while waiting for a perfect opportunity to infiltrate a compound, but he had a feeling that Danny had something else in mind.

“Then show me. Are you touching your cock?”

“No,” Steve forced out. He was holding his phone in his left hand and had the right wrapped tight around his thigh. “I’m not.”

“Good. Then let’s talk about your visit.”

“My visit?” Steve repeated, frowning. He was about sixty seconds from a toe-curling orgasm, and Danny wanted to talk about _logistics_?

“Yeah. When you come visit, are you gonna fuck me?”

Steve let out a noise that sounded suspiciously close to a whimper, and he dug his nails into his thigh, trying to focus on the small pinpricks of pain instead of the overwhelming arousal singing through his bloodstream. “Do you want me to fuck you?”

“Of course I do. Do _you_ want to?” he asked.

“Fuck, yeah, I do.”

“Good. But seriously, you’re a big guy. I gotta get ready—what do you think I needed both hands for?” he said. Steve groaned and shifted restlessly, flexing his feet and shifting his hips.

“Goddamn it, Danny, _please_ ,” he said, gritting his teeth as he begged.

“Okay, okay, you can touch yourself,” Danny said, and Steve exhaled in relief. “But use your left hand.”

Steve clenched his jaw but obeyed without question, switching his phone to his right hand and reaching down with his left. It felt clumsy and unfamiliar, which he supposed was the whole point. Sweat was beading on his chest from the concentration, but he was mercifully approaching the peak of orgasm again. He braced against the heat and the pressure that was pooling at the base of his spine, holding his breath.

“Can you imagine that it’s my hand?”

“Yeah,” he gritted out, his voice mostly gone.

“Stop,” Danny commanded, and Steve wanted to reach through the phone line and _strangle_ him.

“Damn it, Danny, I can’t—” he said hoarsely, but he obeyed nonetheless, clenching a handful of sheets in his fist instead. He stared down at his dick, which was an angry red. He could swear that it was throbbing, and his hips hitched up involuntarily, thrusting against nothing.

“Tell me something else that we’re going to do,” Danny demanded.

“Fuck,” Steve said sharply. He blinked rapidly and tried to remember how to put thoughts into words. “I want to—I want to ride you, I wanna fuck you in the ocean.”

“Yeah,” Danny breathed. “Go.”

Steve inhaled greedily, held his breath, and went for broke. It only took about four hard, fast strokes before he arched his back high and groaned, coming in long spurts that landed high on his chest. He panted through the spasms and wallowed in the resultant heavy, sated feeling in his limbs.

“Jesus _fuck_ , Steve,” Danny gasped in his ear. “I’m hard again.”

Steve laughed, his breath hitching. “Oh yeah, I forgot that your dick is still a teenager. You gonna listen to _me_ now, huh?” he asked, and Danny made a contented hum. “You know I’m just going to get you back for that torture, right?”

“Mmm, can’t wait,” Danny murmured. “Not gonna last long, anyway, m’pretty close.”

“Well, I’ll be nice—you can touch yourself anywhere _except_ your dick,” he said. He gave Danny a few seconds and smirked at the low groan in his ear. “Where are your hands?”

“Two fingers in my ass, the other hand on my balls.”

Steve exhaled noisily, in a low whistle. “Can you come just like that?”

“If it were your fingers, probably,” he said, and Steve clenched his eyes shut at the image. “My angle isn’t great.”

“Okay, your turn. What are we gonna do when I come visit?”

“Mmm,” Danny sighed. “I dunno where to start. I want you to fuck me, maybe in the car. Wanna fuck your face, wanna make you beg for it while I jerk off all over you.”

Steve bit his lip to stifle a manful whimper—goddamn, Danny put him to shame when it came to the dirty talk.

“Please, babe,” Danny begged, and Steve could feel the power surge through him, even from thousands of miles away.

“Okay,” he allowed. “But use your left hand on your dick and keep the fingers in your ass. Think about how it’s gonna feel when I’m fucking you and my cock is holding you open as you come.”

Danny whined in relief, and Steve could hear the vigorous slap of skin on skin. His groans increased in pitch for a few seconds, then there was a hitched breath and a little yell, followed by silence. Steve smiled smugly and looked down—he did not, unfortunately, have Danny’s miraculous refractory period, and his cock was still limp against his thigh. It gave a little conciliatory twitch, though, and he sighed.

“I wish you were here,” he said softly, an arm thrown over his eyes, and Danny made a sympathetic noise.

“I know, babe, me too,” he said. “Soon, though.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, and by the way…we might have to negotiate that whole fucking in the ocean thing. I _really_ hate sand.”

* * *

“I told your dad that you’re coming,” Danny reported the next day.

“Yeah?”

“He seemed excited,” Danny said, which was a bit of an understatement considering how John had reacted when Danny told him. “I purposefully kept it kinda vague, didn’t tell him exactly when you were coming, acted like I didn’t know.”

“Good. I want you all to myself first.”

Danny laughed. “You do, huh?”

“Oh, yeah,” Steve said, his voice dark, and Danny swallowed hard.

“Knock that off,” he said, though he knew it sounded shaky. “I’m at work.”

“Sorry,” Steve said, but Danny wasn’t sure how much he meant it. “How’s that going?”

“It’s excellent, actually. So much better than HPD. I think it’s gonna be good.”

“That’s great. The team is working?”

“Definitely. So far, at least.”

Speaking of his team, Kono appeared at his door, knocking lightly on the frame. He waved her in and spoke into the phone.

“Sorry, babe, but I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“For sure. Bye, Danny.”

Danny rested his phone on his desk and turned toward Kono, who had plopped down in the chair in front of his desk and propped her feet on the edge of his desk. She had her interrogating face on, which always spelled trouble for Danny.

“So.”

“So, what?” he asked, not sure where she was going with this.

“Who were you talking to?”

“I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” Danny said with a huff.

“Aw, come on,” she said, crossing her arms. “You’re always talking and texting someone, and it makes you grin like a loon.”

Danny paused. “It does?”

“Yeah, brah, it does. Is it serious?”

“Maybe,” Danny said with a little grin, shrugging. “We’ll see.”

“Will we get to meet her?”

“Maybe,” he said again, laughing at Kono’s exasperated sigh and neglecting to correct her pronoun. “Soon, probably.”

“Good.”

* * *

Steve called Danny on autopilot when he got back to his room the next night, as he usually did, but he realized instantly that he shouldn’t have. He really needed to cool off first because today had been so bad—he’d made a mistake, they’d _all_ made mistakes, and a lot of people almost dropped with bad intel.

“Hey, babe.”

Shit, too late now to hang up the phone. “Hi.”

“What’s with you?” Danny said, and Steve frowned—this would be much easier if Danny weren’t so damn perceptive. “You sound like someone peed in your Cheerios.”

“I’m just in a really shitty mood, okay?” Steve snapped.

“Whoa, whoa. Take it down a notch. What happened?”

“Damn it, Danny, just—” Steve cut himself off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was wholly unaccustomed to having someone there to talk to, to having to sort out his feelings to present to someone else, and he was floundering. Badly.

“Just tell me what happened.”

“I don’t want to _talk_ ,” Steve said, a lot louder than he should have. But it was true—he wasn’t used to talking, he was used to _doing_. Which he already screwed up today.

“Hey, you called _me_ , pal.”

“You know, maybe we shouldn’t even do this anymore,” he said harshly, but then he sucked in a breath as soon as he heard his own words. Danny was eerily silent. 

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said,” Steve said, even though his inner voice was shouting at him. _Shut up! What the fuck are you doing? You don’t want this!_

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Danny said, sounding incredulous. “You’re in a shitty mood, and now you want to, what, break up?”

Steve didn’t say anything—the word _no_ was lodged in his throat—and so Danny continued. “Are you honestly picking a fight so that we break up? You’re such an ass. The _correct_ way to do that—if you actually want to, that is—is to act like an adult and say something along the lines of, ‘hey, Danny, you’re great, really, but I’ve decided that I no longer want to continue with our little thing here.’ Not whatever the fuck this is.”

“You should spend more time with Grace, less time with me.” Fuck, could he even dig the hole deeper?

“What the fuck did you just say?” he asked, dangerously quiet, after a long pause.

Steve winced but soldiered on anyway, hating himself more every second. “You don’t spend enough time with Grace, you’ve said it yourself. Pretty shitty to be spending time with me when you could be with her instead.”

Danny laughed, loud and humorless and _awful_ , and the sound ripped through Steve’s insides like shrapnel. “Watch it, buddy. You don’t even know me.”

“Exactly! And you don’t even know _me_ , believe me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I have a fucked-up family! I have a fucked-up _job_ , god, Danny, you don’t even know,” Steve said hoarsely. “Why are you even with me?”

“Because I _want_ to be,” Danny said plainly, and that took all of the fight out of Steve. He heaved a shuddering sigh and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his forearms braced on his bent knees. Shit, he needed to get it together. And apologize—that would probably be a good start.

“Fuck, Danny, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Danny was silent, and even though Steve _knew_ that was just a strategy to make him talk more, it worked anyway. “That was—I’m just in a bad mood, and I don’t know how to talk about it. It’s just—this is what I do all day, every day, look for weaknesses and exploit them. It’s...it’s hard for me to turn that off sometimes, I guess, and it’s easy when I’m mad.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to work in a relationship.”

“Are we in a relationship?”

“Do you want to be?” Danny asked, and the answer came to Steve clear as day.

“Yes,” he said instantly.

“Are you sure?” Danny didn’t sound accusing or critical or disbelieving, just neutral.

“I do, I really do,” Steve said, nodding even though Danny couldn’t see him. “It’s hard—it’s hard for me to realize this, okay? That I could have a normal, happy relationship. It’s not like I’ve had a lot of those in my life.”

“Preaching to the choir, buddy. Are you kidding? When my marriage ended, I thought for sure, that was it—I’d wasted my only chance to be happy. It’s hard for me, too.”

“Then what—”

“We figure it out together, that’s what. Okay?”

Steve breathed deeply and closed his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah—that sounds good.”

“And one more thing,” Danny said, his voice getting sharp again. “You may someday reach a point where you have input on how I parent Grace, but until then you stay the fuck out of it, you understand?”

“Yeah,” he said lowly, properly chastened.

“What happened today, anyway?” Danny asked, and Steve winced.

“I can’t—”

“I know, I know, you can’t really tell me. But you can tell me _something_.”

“There is…something big happening somewhere,” Steve said carefully. “And we were supplying intel for people on the ground, and we messed up.”

“Messed up how?”

“Just some bad intel that got mixed up and didn’t get vetted very well. Our system kinda broke down a bit.”

“Did anyone get hurt?”

“No. It was close, though, it could have been a disaster. They pulled out in time.”

“Thank fuck.”

“Yeah,” Steve said hoarsely. God, if he was a wreck now, he doesn’t even want to _know_ what it would have been like if there were casualties, while he sat safely in a room on US soil. “It’s just so…so _infuriating_ that we screwed up—that _I_ screwed up—a vital part of this mission.”

“It really sucks. But it happens sometimes, yeah? Intel gets screwed up, I certainly know that.”

“I suppose,” Steve grumbled. Not on his watch, though, not if he can help it.

“Let me guess—perfect Captain America never screws up, right?”

“He was in the Army,” he said mulishly, and Danny laughed.

“So besides your inability to meet your impossible standards, what else is it?”

“I feel useless,” Steve confessed, after a long pause. “I’m used to being out _there_ , using the intel on the ground instead of supplying it from here. I know we need a break, but still. It sucks.”

“You’re _not_ useless,” Danny said firmly. “You just said yourself how important the intel is. You’re just on this side for a little while.”

“It’s just—”

“I mean, it can’t be all bad, right? San Diego has to be better than the _‘Stan_ , yeah? The food must be better, at the very least. And, you know, I’m here.”

Steve laughed and rubbed at the receding headache in his temples. “Yeah, you’re right. I feel better now,” he admitted.

“Well, look at that. Turns out talking helps more than putting up a wall, who knew,” Danny said. His voice had more fondness in it than mocking, though, and Steve allowed himself a tiny smile.

“I’m sorry. Again.”

“Your apology is noted, acceptance is pending,” Danny said, and Steve huffed out a laugh.

“You let me know now.”

“Oh, I will.”

* * *

Danny’s phone buzzed across his desk while he was in the middle of a big stack of paperwork.

_Does Grace have a favorite animal?_

Danny frowned. _Huh? Why?_

_Figured I should bring back a souvenir, and the San Diego Zoo is here._

_She loves dolphins._

_Perfect._

Danny sighed. His daughter was going to love Steve more than him, he was sure of it.

* * *

“Hey, babe.”

“Hi,” Steve said, smiling reflexively at the sound of Danny’s voice. “What’s up?”

“Just in the middle of a very boring stakeout.”

“Oh, shit—I can call back.”

“No, no, it’s fine. As I said, boring. These people are supposed to be drug dealers, but right now they just appear to be asleep. Talk away.”

“Are you, uh, are you alone?”

“Oh, no, Kono’s here. She’s desperately trying to figure out who this secret person is that I talk to, but—no, seriously, stop it, Kono, or I will _tickle you_. Don’t you test me…”

Steve smiled and listened to the scuffle over the phone. Suddenly there was the faint but unmistakable sound of a gunshot, and Steve sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide. “Danny? Are you okay?”

“ _Fuck_. Gotta go, babe. Call you back.”

The line went dead, and Steve just stared at the phone in his hand. He certainly wasn’t going to be able to sleep _now_ , so he hopped out of bed and started to pace, forcing himself to take deep breaths. He needed a distraction. He picked up his gun, dug out his gun oil and an old cloth, and tried to relax as he cleaned the shit out of it. He had never been in this exact position before, and it was deeply unsettling.

Finally his phone buzzed, and he lunged over to grab it.

_All good. Long night ahead, talk tomorrow._

Steve dropped his head in relief and exhaled slowly.

* * *

Grace had become obsessed with Steve, which wasn’t really a surprise to Danny—apparently crushes on Steve McGarrett ran in the family. He was pretty easy to like, especially to Grace, who saw him as some sort of handsome action hero. And Danny hadn’t even told her about the enormous stuffed dolphin that was probably on its way to her. She pressed Danny for information about how they met and about Steve’s life, and eventually he promised her that the two of them could Skype with Steve together.

Grace had insisted that they get set up five minutes early, so as they were waiting in front of Danny’s laptop, he asked, “Monkey, how would you feel if Steve came for a visit?”

She gasped, her eyes wide. “That would be so cool!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Is he coming?”

“He sure is, pretty soon.”

Steve’s face suddenly popped up on the screen, and Danny smiled at the sight of him. God, he was handsome. “Steve!” Grace shrieked, and Steve grinned back at her, just about broader than Danny had ever seen.

“Hey there, Grace.”

“Danno said that you’re coming for a visit! Really?”

“I sure am. You okay with that?”

“Yes! Will you take me swimming? Danno doesn’t like the ocean very much.”

“Of course I will. Do you surf?”

Grace gasped and looked up with wide eyes at Danny, who groaned. He was completely screwed now. “Don’t you think you’re a little young to be surfing, sweetie?”

She frowned and pulled out those big eyes. Damn it. “A lot of my friends surf.”

“I was surfing before I was her age,” Steve piped in, completely unhelpful as always. “And I can teach you the basics, Grace.”

Grace grinned. “That would be awesome. Pleeeease, Danno?”

“We’ll see,” he promised. “I’ll talk to your mom about it.”

“How long are you gonna be here?”

“A few months,” he answered, and she grinned.

“That’s so cool,” she said with a sigh. “Is it like your summer break?”

Steve laughed and nodded. “Kinda. We don’t really get normal weekends or holidays in the Navy, so we get our vacations in big blocks.”

“What else can we do when you’re here?”

“Whatever you want, monkey,” Danny answered.

“Have you been to the aquarium?” Steve asked. “That was one of my favorite things to do when I was around your age.”

Grace shook her head. “No, not yet. What else did you like to do in Hawaii?”

“Well, surfing, of course. And there were some hikes I liked to do, I’ll show you.”

“Awesome. Danno, is Steve your boyfriend?” she asked, looking up at him, and he froze. Shit.

“Gracie, that’s not—,” he started. God, how did his eight-year-old even _know_ anything about boyfriends?

“Yes, he is,” Steve chimed in with a grin, and Grace giggled.

“That’s so cool.”

“Well, I’m glad you think so, monkey,” Danny said, forcing a smile through clenched teeth. It was going to be hard to yell at him while Steve had that broad smile on his face, but he didn’t even get the chance because there was an audible knock on Steve’s door.

He held up a finger to them before he got up to answer it. Danny couldn’t hear anything except for hushed whispers, but Steve appeared again a few seconds later, frowning. “I’m sorry, guys, but I have to go. Unexpected meeting.”

“Aw,” Grace said, her frown matching Steve’s. “Bye, Steve!”

“Bye, Gracie, bye, Danno.”

“Bye, babe,” he said, and then Steve was gone.

A couple hours later, while Grace was gathering her stuff to go back to Rachel’s, Danny’s phone vibrated in his pocket.

_Are you mad? That I told Grace._

Danny stared at Steve’s text. Part of him wanted to reply yes, wanted to make Steve apologize and feel bad for overstepping his bounds. Or he could just tell the truth.

_No, I’m not. I wasn’t planning to tell her for a while, but it’s fine. Except this means I have to talk to Rachel, which is never fun._

_Yikes. Good luck._

Danny sighed and thought about it as he drove Grace back. He didn’t want to tell Grace until she met Steve so that he could see how they got along, but clearly that was a done deal. He felt fairly ridiculous calling someone his “boyfriend” when he hadn’t even spent 24 hours with him, but…what the hell. Danny’s confidence actually increased after he and Steve’s little fight—they talked about it more afterward, and he certainly understood Steve’s instinctive impulse to lash out when he felt threatened and his subconscious desire to sabotage something that he didn’t think he deserved. Both of those feelings were way too familiar, but at least they recognized it in themselves and could talk about it.

He also hadn’t been prepared to tell Rachel that he had a boyfriend, god. He wasn’t worried about the _boy_ part—Rachel knew he was bi, and for all of her faults, she was in no way prejudiced. 

Danny pulled into the driveway of the mansion and got out of the car with Grace, following her up toward the door. “Hi, sweetie,” Rachel said, wrapping her arms around Grace for a hug. “How was your weekend?”

“Oh, it was so fun, Mommy, we went to the beach and to the park. And we got to Skype with Danno’s boyfriend Steve!”

“Wow, really? That all sounds very fun,” she said, somehow managing to smile at Grace and shoot daggers at Danny with her eyes at the same time. Rachel was talented that way. “Why don’t you go unpack your stuff in your room while your dad and I talk.”

“Bye, monkey,” he said, kneeling down to give her a big hug.

“Bye, Danno,” she said after she planted a smacking kiss on his cheek. “I had a great weekend.”

“A boyfriend? Were you ever going to tell me?” Rachel hissed, spinning around to face Danny after making sure that Grace was out of earshot.

“Of course I was going to tell you,” Danny snapped. Then he took a deep breath—fighting with Rachel wasn’t going to help anything. “That’s why I came to the door. It’s new and I wasn’t planning to tell Grace yet, but it happened. Of course I would never ask her to keep things from you.”

“Tell me about him, then,” she said, crossing her arms. Danny gritted his teeth. He was certainly not awarded the opportunity to grill Rachel about Stan.

“His name is Steve,” he said, and Rachel rolled her eyes.

“Yes, I got that, Daniel. How did the two of you meet?”

“He’s related to someone I work with,” he said, which is _true_ , certainly, just not quite accurate in regard to her question.

“And what does he do?”

“He’s in the Navy.”

“Hmm,” she said, and Danny could tell that she didn’t approve. “That seems…unstable. Is he overseas?”

“Not right now. He’s coming to visit for a few months.”

“What about Grace?” Rachel said cautiously.

“He knows that she comes first,” he said with a shrug. “And they really like each other. She’s really excited for his visit.”

“Well, I’ll need to meet him, obviously.”

“Of course, dear,” he drawled.

* * *

Steve stared at the phone in his hand, scrolling mindlessly through the contacts list again. He really didn’t want to do this, but he knew he needed to. He pressed his thumb over her name and took a deep breath—hopefully he still had the right number.

Finally, after three rings, “Hello?”

“Hey, Mary, it’s Steve,” he said, wincing.

“Steve?” she said, surprised. “I haven’t heard from you in…in a long time. Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. And I’m in California, actually, a couple hours south of LA.”

“Wow.” There was a long pause before she continued. “What’s—uh, why are you calling?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch this weekend, maybe in Carlsbad or something, somewhere in between.”

“Sure…are you sure nothing’s wrong? I mean, I’d like to see you, really, but this seems kinda out of the blue.”

Steve sighed. As much as he would like to, he couldn’t really blame her for being suspicious—they hardly ever talked. “Yeah, I promise. I just—I miss you, and I’d like to see you.”

“Okay, let’s do it. I’ll see you this weekend.”

Mary had texted him the name of some café in Laguna Beach, so Steve borrowed a car and drove up on Saturday, enjoying the blue skies and the ocean view as he drove. At least Southern California was a lot more like Hawaii than a lot of the other places the Navy had taken him.

He stepped inside the café, pushing his sunglasses up as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Man, would he even recognize her?

“Steve!”

He spun around and saw her standing a few tables away, looking exactly like he’d remembered. Her hair was even its actual color. “Come here,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, and he held out his arms. Mary rushed into them and he hugged her tight, tucking his nose against her hair and cradling her head in his hand.

“It’s been too long,” she said against his shirt, and he nodded.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” she said, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes. He smiled and led her back to the table where she’d been sitting.

The waitress came over, and Steve ordered the fish tacos, which he dug into with gusto when they were delivered. Man, Danny was right—food was much better here than in the ‘Stan.

“You seem different,” she said, gesturing at him with her fork.

“Different how?” he asked, looking down at himself. “Older? You haven’t seen me in a while.”

“Yeah, but it’s more than that. Although the little bit of gray is nice, it’s very dashing,” she said, smiling. Steve huffed and barely suppressed the urge to run a hand through his hair. “You seem…nicer. Calmer, maybe. More like a normal person, less like a Navy robot.”

“I’m going back to Hawaii next week,” he said suddenly, and Mary’s eyes widened predictably.

“Really? Why?”

“To, uh—well, partly to see Dad, believe it or not.”

“What? Why? Have you guys been talking?”

“No, not really. I was on the east coast a few weeks ago, and I, uh—I met somebody,” he said, clearing his throat. “Somebody who also lives in Hawaii. I want to visit, so I figure I should see Dad, too.”

“Aw, is this why you’re different? Does little Stevie finally have a girlfriend?” she asked, grinning unrepentantly, and Steve’s face flushed.

“It’s a guy, actually.”

Mary froze with her fork in mid-air. “Oh,” she said awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh—”

“It’s okay,” Steve said, waving his hand. “I mean… _is_ it okay? With—uh, with you, I mean?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, of _course_ it’s okay,” she said, rolling her eyes as she patted his arm. “Is this, like, a serious thing?”

“What do you mean? With Danny, or…”

“No, in general. Are you gay?”

“No,” Steve said, blushing. God, only his sister could make him feel like an awkward teenager again. “I’m not. Bi, I guess.”

“Then what about this guy, Danny. Is it serious with him?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “We only spent one night together.”

“Ooh, classy,” Mary interrupted, cackling, and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, like you’re the morality police,” he said dryly. “But we’ve been talking a lot, and I really like him, he’s a good guy. So yeah—I think it could be.”

“That’s really great, Steve,” she said, a genuine smile on her face. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. I’m going to be in Hawaii for a while. You should come.”

Mary grimaced. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if I want to see Dad.”

“Yeah, that’s how I feel, too,” Steve said with a sigh. “But I hate having it hanging over my head, you know? I want to see if maybe we can get it worked out.”

“Wow, you’re going to have to introduce me to this Danny guy.”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously. He really couldn’t imagine anything worse than Danny meeting his sister—they’d probably get along _way_ too well, and it would be nothing but trouble for Steve.

“I need to meet this guy who has apparently turned you into a rational, normal person. Is he hot?”

“Aw, Mary,” he grumbled while she laughed at him. “Shut up.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Yes, he’s very handsome,” Steve said grudgingly.

“Do you have a picture?”

“What, no, of course I don’t have a picture. You’ll just have to trust me, okay? He’s handsome.”

“Any more details?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Is he military, too?”

“No, he’s a cop.”

“Just like Dad!” she said as she clapped her hands together. “Wait, he must _know_ Dad, right?”

“He, uh, he works for him, actually,” Steve said, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Wow, you really _do_ have daddy issues, that’s just hilarious,” she said, giggling, and Steve just glared at her. He forgot how annoying she could be. “How long are you going to be home?”

“Four months, probably,” he said, happy that she at least referred to Hawaii as _home_.

“I’ll think about it—I’ll see how it goes between you and Dad. You’ll buy my ticket, right?” she asked, batting her eyes shamelessly.

Steve sighed—the work of an older brother was never done—but couldn’t help the smile threatening to break out. “Yes, Mary, I’ll buy your ticket.”

* * *

“How was your weekend, babe?” Danny asked when he called Steve Sunday evening.

“It was good. I, uh, I saw Mary.”

“Mary, your sister Mary?” he asked, dumbly.

“Yeah.”

“Wow, that’s—you said that you guys weren’t really talking, right? What happened?”

“I figured I should see her while I was so close, so I called her and we had lunch.”

“And how’d that go?”

“It was good, actually, really good. I, uh, I told her about us,” Steve said with a little cough, and Danny smiled.

“Yeah? How’d that go?” he asked, knowing there was a good chance that Mary hadn’t known her brother was bi.

“Yeah, she was happy.”

“Well, that’s great. How’s she doing?”

“Good, I think. She seemed more settled, anyway. And she even said that she might come for a visit while I’m there. And speaking of,” Steve said, his voice perking up, “it’s all finalized, and I finally have my flight.”

“Yeah?” he asked, excited himself. “When? I’ll come pick you up.”

“Three days. Getting in at 18:30. Sorry, 6:30.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Danny said with a laugh. “I’ll break you of all those annoying military habits.”

“I can’t wait.”


	4. Chapter Four

Danny stood there, leaning against the Camaro with his arms crossed, and tried to look calm and relaxed—difficult considering his heart was trying to beat out of his chest. It had been over a month since he’d seen Steve, and now he was finally, _finally_ waiting for him at the airport. According to the flight tracking app that he had on his phone, Steve’s flight landed 17 minutes ago.

Suddenly a large group of people streamed through the doors, and Danny strained to see if Steve was one of them. The crowd parted just enough so that he could see a flash of what looked like a khaki military uniform, but it disappeared as soon as he thought he saw it. Then a second later Steve was _there_ , standing right in front of him, looking so damn hot in his service uniform that the rest of the crowd could have pulled out guns and started shooting at them, for all that Danny cared. “Hi,” he breathed, and Steve just grinned at him.

“Hey, Danno.” Steve dropped his big duffel bag at his feet and wrapped those long arms around him in a big bear hug. He sunk into it and tucked his nose against Steve’s shoulder—he smelled a little bit like airplane, but Danny couldn’t care less. Steve pulled back, smiled again, and leaned down to kiss him softly, his big hands coming up to frame his face. “Why the hell are you wearing a tie? Please tell me you didn’t dress up to pick me up from the airport.”

“What are you talking about? This is what I wear to work.”

“Really? A tie? In Hawaii?” Steve asked as he tugged on the end of it.

“I am a detective,” Danny said, spreading his arms and looking down at himself. “This is what detectives wear. I look _professional_.”

“And what about the other detectives in Hawaii?”

“Shut up. How about we stop talking about my tie and get out of here, yeah?” Danny asked. Steve nodded, wiggling his eyebrows in a ridiculous manner, and tossed his bag in the backseat.

“Nice car,” he said, running his hand over the hood. “Can I drive?”

“Uh, no,” Danny said with a snort. “Come on, passenger seat for you.”

Steve huffed but fell down into the seat anyway without further protest and stared out the window as the scenery passed them by. “It’s just as beautiful as I remember.”

“How long has it been, anyway?”

“A while,” he said evasively, and Danny didn’t press.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m good for a while,” he said, lighting up as he turned to smile at Danny. “You?”

Danny shook his head with a chuckle—he had _other_ base desires on his mind instead, and it seemed like he wasn’t alone. The drive to his house had never felt so long, and when they finally made it, Steve jumped out of the car and beat Danny to the front door. He nudged Steve aside to open the door and then ushered him inside, proud of his little house. It was a rental, but it was well-kept, had two bedrooms, and was in a good neighborhood, so it covered all the aspects that Danny cared about.

“This is a nice place,” Steve said, looking around appreciatively.

“Thanks. The new task force came with a decent pay raise, so I moved in not too long ago. You should have seen my last apartment,” he said with a shudder.

“That bad, huh?”

“Well, it was a studio that just had a pull-out, so…”

“Yeah, I don’t think that would have worked for what I have planned,” Steve said. He pulled some kind of ninja move—closing the door, turning Danny around, and pressing him against the wall, all in one motion.

“What exactly is it that you have planned? And, also, what is it with you and walls, anyway?” Danny said, trying not to give away just how breathless he was. It was difficult, though, with Steve staring down at him like that, with his eyes scarily focused.

“Which question do you want me to answer?” Steve asked, though he seemed a little distracted by mouthing along his jaw. Danny tilted his head back to ease the way.

“The first one.”

“Well, I believed we discussed that on the phone,” he said, dark and low right into Danny’s ear. Danny groaned and twisted his head to capture Steve’s lips, kissing him deep and fierce and filthy. Steve was right there with him, as always, and it was amazing and life-affirming, except for the way Danny’s body was starting to hurt with how hard he was being held against the wall.

“I have a perfectly nice bedroom, you know,” he said between kisses as he reacquainted himself with the taste of Steve’s mouth. “No sofa bed, I promise.”

Steve grumbled, shaking his head, so Danny used all of his strength to shove him off. He knew that if he didn’t stop this now, they’d end up fucking right where they stood, and Danny was too old for that shit—he’d break an ankle, for sure, or maybe a hip. He really needed the safety of being horizontal to deal with Steve McGarrett.

He used the distance between them to take a much-needed deep breath and led Steve by the hand to his bedroom—he’d made the bed that morning and everything. Danny dropped one hand down to his belt buckle and used the other to gesture at Steve’s uniform. “This, uh—this whole thing is very nice.”

“Yeah?” Steve said with a smirk as he busied himself with the buttons of his shirt. “I was rushing to the airport and didn’t have time to change.”

“I appreciate the impatience.”

Danny finally succeeded in pushing his pants down and off, but when he reached for his tie, Steve batted his hand away. “I’m going to throw this thing away,” he said, though he was gentle, almost reverent, as he picked open the knot and slid it off, dropping it on the floor.

“Good luck with that, I have a lot more,” Danny said, and when Steve headed for his closet, he laughed. “Are you fact checking what I say?”

“Well, partly. I also need hangers,” he said as he slid his uniform shirt off his shoulders and hung it up, then repeated the process with his pants. “Wow, that is a lot of ties. I especially like the multicolored one with the fish.”

“Hey, you can’t give me shit about that one. Grace gave that to me,” Danny complained, but then he shook his head. He wasn’t thinking about his daughter when Steve was standing in front of him, in just his undershirt and his boxers.

“Why is your shirt still on?” Steve complained, and Danny rolled his eyes.

“I was a little distracted, okay? Plus if you want something done right, do it yourself, yeah?” Danny said, and sure enough, Steve stepped right up and started attacking his buttons with gusto. “That seems like something you Navy boys would say.”

“I’ve been _doing things myself_ for over a month, Danny. It’s your turn now.”

“Very corny, babe,” Danny said, but he was smiling nonetheless into the kiss.

He took a deep breath and let it out on a whoosh as he grasped the hem of Steve’s shirt and tugged it up and off his head. He’d been a little worried that he built everything up in his head, like maybe it was all elevated in the haze of lust and blur of time apart. But nope—Steve was just as beautiful as he remembered. Maybe even more so, now that he knew he had _time_.

Danny must have given something away with his face or his touch because Steve groaned and crowded him forward with his bulk, pushing him up against the bed until he lost his balance and fell back with a grunt. He was reaching up for Steve at the same time as he was lowering himself down onto Danny, and finally they got themselves situated in the middle of the bed.

It was just as intense and all-consuming as Danny remembered, and everything was blurred and fuzzy on the edges as he relearned the feel of Steve’s hot skin in his hands and his tongue in his mouth. Danny got an elbow to the gut for his trouble as they both squirmed to get their boxers off, but he forgave Steve pretty quickly, especially when he started nibbling at his neck like that. “Fuck, Danny, I missed you so much.”

Danny had words he wanted to say in response, he really did, but they got lost on a moan when he shifted his hips a little and pushed his dick against the long, hard line of Steve’s. He thrust up and eagerly swallowed the choked-off noise that came out of Steve. “What do you want, babe?” he murmured. “Tell me.”

“Fuck me, just like this.”

“Yeah,” Danny said through a groan. “Yeah I can do that.”

He grimaced—moving was not easy with 200 pounds of Steve on top of him—but he managed to sit up and scoot back so that he was leaning against the headboard and had easier access to Steve’s mouth. He kept one hand on Steve’s ass while he reached over to his recently-restocked nightstand for a condom and some lube. He swatted Steve lightly on the hip, and he rose up obediently on his knees, making room for Danny’s hand.

His finger slid in easily, and Danny could not let himself think about how that heat would feel around his dick, not if he wanted this to last at all. Especially if Steve kept making those noises, those little grunts as he held onto Danny’s shoulders for dear life. Danny kissed him, eager for a distraction.

Steve apparently decided that he had enough after several minutes because he snatched up the condom and moved back, abruptly dislodging Danny’s fingers. He ripped open the package—Danny could see the slight shake to his fingers, thank god he wasn’t the only one rattled by all this—and quickly slid the condom on Danny’s cock, making him hiss. Steve worked his way down his cock, and Danny zoned out a little bit, his only line of defense at staving off an orgasm. He finally settled, solid and square in the cradle of Danny’s hips, and suddenly it was impossible for Danny to unclench his fingers from Steve’s thighs.

Fuck, he was hot, all tall and lean in Danny’s lap. The slight sheen of sweat made his tattoos stand out more, and Danny was mesmerized for a solid 30 seconds by the swirls on Steve’s biceps that seemed to move on their own as he rocked up and down. He jerked his hips higher with a grunt, thrusting up against Steve’s weight and trying to contribute more to this experience than just lying there like the dazed, oversexed lump that he was. Danny’s stamina was abandoning him rapidly, unfortunately, and as his orgasm sneak up on him, he slid his hand down Steve’s torso with a sharp curse. “Come on, babe,” he muttered raggedly as he slipped a hand around Steve’s cock and jerked hard.

Steve cried out and tipped forward to brace his arms on either side of Danny’s shoulders, curling down to kiss him while Danny craned his neck to meet him halfway. They were a jumbled mess of hands and dicks and hips with a jerky rhythm and no real grace to speak of, but Danny couldn’t care less, especially when Steve grunted into his mouth and spilled all over his hand. “ _Fuck_ , Danny, god.”

Danny gasped and dug his nails into Steve’s ass as he thrust up hard, overwhelmed by the climax that he could _feel_ wracking Steve’s body. Steve’s weight was heavy now, limp and lax from his orgasm, and Danny gritted his teeth, muscling through half a dozen more thrusts before he came with a low whine.

Steve had collapsed on him, face buried in his neck, and Danny tried to breathe. “My legs are completely asleep, babe,” he whispered, and Steve chuckled as he lifted himself up carefully and collapsed onto his side.

“Okay, I’m hungry now.”

“I’ve got leftover pizza,” Danny offered, jerking his thumb toward the kitchen.

Steve lit up at that, so Danny found himself barefoot in his kitchen, dressed only in his boxers as they ate cold pizza. They stood at the counter, bumping elbows, and Danny was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one who wanted some extra physical proximity right now.

“This is so romantic,” Steve said, grinning around a huge mouthful of pizza, and Danny rolled his eyes.

“My apologies. You’re more than welcome to find another free place to crash, if you’d like, maybe one that’s more up to your standards with its food offerings.”

“Oh, I was serious. Don’t think I didn’t notice those few slices of Hawaiian pizza.”

“Yeah, well,” Danny said, shrugging and fighting the urge to blush. “I seem to remember your strange affinity for pineapple.”

* * *

“Whatcha wanna do today, babe?” Danny asked, though the words were muffled against the skin of Steve’s chest.

He smiled and rolled them a little so they could actually talk to each other. After some fantastic sex and the best night’s sleep he’d had in a while, he was ready to tackle anything. “I should probably go see my dad.”

“Oh, wow,” he said, blinking and raising himself up on one elbow. “You want to call first?”

“Nah, I think I’ll just drop by.” He knew it was cowardly, but he’d prefer to have the small chance that his dad wouldn’t actually be there.

“Do you want me to come?” Danny asked carefully.

Steve’s first instinct was to push him away and say _no_ , but as he really thought about it—“Yeah. I would like that, I think.”

Danny got up and made them some breakfast, and Steve felt appropriately fortified, in more ways than one, when he stood in front of his childhood home. It was incredibly weird to just knock on the door, like some kind of stranger, but he did it anyway before taking a step back and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

The door swung open, and there he was. Older, yeah, with more gray in his hair, but definitely his dad.

“Steve,” he said, eyebrows raising toward his hairline.

He nodded abruptly. “Hi, Dad.”

John never had a strong penchant for physical affection, so Steve was a little surprised when he reached forward and hugged him. It was stilted and a little awkward, like hugging a stranger, and he stepped back from it quickly.

“Come in,” he said, opening the door and gesturing. “Hey there, Danny.”

“Hi, John,” he said with a little wave, peeking out from behind Steve. “Don’t mind me—just the chauffer.”

Steve swallowed hard as he stepped into the house and was immediately assaulted by memories. It looked exactly the same as the day he left—hell, it even _smelled_ the same. He had the sudden vision of his childhood bedroom, which he would bet was also untouched, and shivered. He shook his head quickly and headed straight for the door to the lanai, in desperate need of some fresh air. The anger, which he had many years of practice keeping toned down, was quickly rising to the surface, from just being in this house and being in the presence of his dad. He took a breath and gazed out at the ocean, hoping that the familiar view would calm him down.

“So,” John said, full of what Steve could only imagine was false cheer, “how have you been, son?”

Yeah, looking at the ocean didn’t work. Steve whirled around and clenched his jaw. “I _cannot_ do this with you, Dad. I can’t just pretend that we haven’t been practically estranged for half my life.”

John grimaced and leaned against the railing. “I—”

“No, I’m serious. Just because you talk about me with your coworkers and put up some kind of front or something—I don’t know. It’s pretty fucking convenient to leave out the part about how you abandoned your two children, by the way.”

“Steve,” he said, aghast. “You don’t understand. I needed to _protect_ you two.”

Steve scoffed. That excuse was exactly as flimsy as it was so many years ago. “No, we needed _you_ , Dad. We were two _kids_ that just lost their mom. It was your _job_ as our father to take care of us, and you failed. You were selfish and you sent us away,” he said harshly, breathing hard. Steve felt a perverse sense of pleasure at the agony on his dad’s face—payback for years of emotional turmoil, he justified it to himself.

“I can’t deny that I…made mistakes in the past. I would hope that, while you’re here, we could work on rebuilding our relationship.”

“It feels pretty shitty to all of a sudden be wanted now that I’m an adult and can take care of myself, now that the hard part is over.”

John sighed and scratched at this eyebrow. “Do you have a place to stay? Would you like to stay here? I cleared your room, just in case.”

“No, I’m staying with Danny.”

John swallowed visibly and nodded. “I’m glad you two have become friends,” he said. “He’s a good man.”

“Oh, we’re actually more than friends,” Steve said with a harsh, humorless laugh—might as well throw everything on the table and burn the whole thing down. “But you probably wouldn’t approve of that, anyway.”

He reveled in his dad’s shocked face for a second and then spun around, heading through the house toward the front door and brushing past Danny on the way.

“Wait, Steve—” John said, following him.

“Bye, Dad,” he said tiredly. “I’ll see you around.”

Steve flung himself into the driver’s seat of the Camaro, and after Danny entered the car, there was a long silence. Steve exhaled loudly and braced his forehead against his forearms on the steering wheel. “Holy shit. I just outed you to your—to your _boss_ , god. Fuck, Danny, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah, you did. But hey, babe, it’s okay,” Danny said, rubbing a soothing line down the rigid curve of Steve’s back.

“Still,” he said as he raised his head to look Danny in the eye. “I shouldn’t have brought you into it, that was wrong.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I never got the impression that something like that would bother him. Especially when it comes to you, I’m sure.”

“Really?” Steve asked, skeptical.

“Really. I’m pretty sensitive to that, obviously, but I haven’t gotten that vibe from him.”

“Huh,” he said, staring down at his hands.

“Did you always think he _would_ have a problem with it? I mean…is that, uh, part of this?”

“No, not really,” Steve said, shaking his head. “The whole bi thing hasn’t really been a big part of my life, honestly, but I’m not sure what he would think.”

“I think you need to give him a little more credit. When it comes to that, anyway.”

“Mmm,” Steve said noncommittally. He was ready to _not_ think about this for a little while.

“You sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Yeah,” he said as he let out his breath with a whoosh. “Let’s go.”

He drove calmly, but as he stepped into Danny’s house, he let the anger morph into the familiar lust that he felt around Danny. Steve all but dragged him into the bedroom and kissed him fiercely.

“Really wanna fuck you,” he begged. “God, Danny—please.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said instantly, reaching up for his mouth again. “Come on.”

Steve exhaled and started to quickly strip him. He knew it was probably glaringly, embarrassingly obvious that he needed this right now, but Danny—perfect, wonderful Danny—seemed to magically know exactly when to push back against Steve and when to stop fighting. And right now, he was offering himself up without a second thought, and Steve was going to grab the opportunity, gratefully, with both hands.

They were both naked, finally, and Steve let Danny drag him onto the bed. Their kisses were aggressive and fierce, beautiful in their passion, and the drag of Danny’s dick against his was electric. Steve fumbled in the nightstand for the lube and worked his fingers into Danny slow and steady, eager to focus on something else besides how hard his dick was.

He was patient, thorough, and he didn’t withdraw his fingers until Danny literally yelled at him to move. Steve huffed a laugh and obeyed, rearranging them so he was kneeling behind Danny. He stroked a hand down his side, gripped his hip possessively, and nudged just the head of his cock into Danny. “Fuck,” he hissed, throwing one hand up to brace against the headboard. “Jesus, Steve.”

God, he was impossibly tight and hot, and Steve wanted to _cry_. He slid in a little bit more, paused, and then trembled in sheer relief when Danny pushed back against him, taking in more of his dick until he was all the way inside. Danny dropped his head and groaned, so lowly that Steve could feel the vibration of it, and he shivered. He had no idea how long it had been for Danny—and he couldn’t bring it up _now_ nor could he think about it too hard without wanting to put his fist through a wall—so he kept it gentle, slipping in and out just a bit and rocking more than thrusting. It was certainly enough simulation for him, and if the whimpers were any indication, the same was true for Danny.

Steve finally remembered his manners and reached down clumsily to grab Danny’s dick, giving it a quick pull. He wasn’t going to last long at all with this fire running through his veins, and he needed to make sure that he came last—just as Steve had promised, Danny was going to come with his dick holding him open. “Come on, Danny,” he grunted, forcing the words out. “You gotta come first, babe. Come for me, let me hear it.”

“Harder,” he said with a gasp. “Just a little—yeah, babe, right there.”

Steve moved his hand down to Danny’s balls, tugging lightly as he snapped his hips a little faster. “Remember what we talked about on the phone? You wanted to be fucked, and I said I was gonna make you come. Now it’s time, c’mon.”

Danny dropped down onto his elbows, and his breath hitched when the movement made Steve slip even deeper. “Fuck, Steve, I’m gonna—”

He increased the pace of his hand and exhaled in triumph as Danny came with a hoarse cry. He followed just a minute later, gripping Danny’s hips tight and grunting with the effort of staying upright. Steve kept control long enough not to collapse on him, and he peeled the condom off with shaking fingers. Danny yanked at his wrist, so he went down gratefully, pulling Danny into his side.

“So,” he said, one eyebrow raised high. “That was—”

“I know, I know,” Steve said sheepishly. “That’s not normally how I—I mean, I don’t...this isn’t a habit. I promise.”

“What, having sex to avoid your feelings?”

“Yeah—that.”

“It was good, though,” Danny said, grinning, and Steve released a surprised, relieved laugh.

“Fuck yeah, it was.”

But later that night, after Danny made them dinner, Steve figured he should give that _talking_ thing another try. He waited until halftime of the game they were watching and then muted the TV.

“Growing up—he was my hero, you know? He was a good dad,” Steve said, launching straight into it with no preamble. “And then, right when we needed him more than ever...he was just a stranger.”

“It’s hard when your parents let you down and you realize they have flaws,” Danny said, turning toward him as he scooted a little closer.

“Grace still thinks you’re perfect, though, right?” Steve said, cracking a little smile, and Danny laughed.

“I hope so. God, just thinking about the day she doesn’t—makes me wanna cry.”

“I think part of me thought it was just dumb kid stuff, and when I came back, it would be different—but it’s all the same. Neither of us has changed. All he talks about is having to _protect_ me, which makes even less sense now than it did then.”

“Yes, I know, SuperSEAL, you’re quite the killing machine,” Danny said dryly. “First of all, you don’t know if he’s changed because you guys didn’t _really_ talk, you just exchanged some dramatic, emotionally-repressed words. And I can’t really claim to know you before, but you must have changed at least somewhat if you came back to see him.”

“That’s not the only reason I came back,” Steve said with a leer as he crowded Danny down flat onto the couch. Maybe they could end this conversation early.

Danny huffed a little, but he was smiling as he pushed Steve away. ”Babe, think of Grace—what would you do to protect Grace?”

“Anything,” he said automatically, and then he winced at the knowing look in Danny’s eyes.

“And you barely know her. Then imagine how I feel, as her dad.”

“You wouldn’t leave her, though,” he countered.

“No, that’s true—I wouldn’t,” he allowed, spreading his hands. 

“See—”

“But I also don’t know how I would deal with the grief if the person that I love died,” he said, keeping his gaze steady on Steve.

Steve swallowed hard and nodded. Yeah, he couldn’t imagine that, either. “I’ll talk to him again, I promise.”

* * *

On Monday morning, Danny paused outside the HQ building, steeled himself, and ran a hand down his tie—he had a feeling that today was going to be awkward beyond belief. But mercifully, he didn’t see John all morning and instead got to spend a few blissfully boring hours checking alibis with Kono. He knew he couldn’t avoid his boss forever, but seriously, what was he supposed to say? _So now you know that I, as your subordinate, am fucking your son—who, by the way, doesn’t like you so much_. Yeah, that wouldn’t work.

It wasn’t until late in the afternoon, as he and Chin were looking at maps on the monitors, when John walked in. Danny gulped and avoided the childish impulse to dart into his office. John greeted them all with a polite nod, and he indicated with a tilt of his head that Danny should follow him into his office. Oh, fuck. He couldn’t fire him for this, could he? Maybe—the governor did talk a lot about _immunity and means_ , after all.

John closed the door carefully and perched on the edge of his desk, his arms crossed. “I have no interest in bringing personal issues into the workplace, Danny, but I felt like I needed to say this. I’m not sure what Steve told you or what he thinks,” John said, looking Danny straight in the eye, “but I have no problem with the two of you being in a relationship—really.”

Danny exhaled and nodded. That was a lot better than he was expecting. So far. “Well, I figured that would be the case, to be honest, but thank you. I’ll make sure Steve knows it, too.”

“Good. And please don’t think that your involvement in any of those… _issues_ will have any bearing on your work here. You’re a great cop, and we’re lucky to have you here.”

Danny nodded again and knew that he should probably just escape while he was ahead—but as always, he couldn’t resist talking a little more. “I think he just needs some time to process all of this,” he said, watching John’s expression as it brightened slightly. “He really did come to Hawaii to see you, not, uh, just for me. I know he wants a better relationship.”

John nodded sharply, blinking. “Well, I hope it all works out,” he said. He offered his hand, and Danny took it, shaking firmly, for the gesture of acceptance that it was.

A few blessedly calm and non-awkward days later, Kono suggested they all go out to dinner—extra team bonding, she called it.

Chin and Danny nodded, but John shook his head with a wince. “I’ve got a late meeting with the governor. You guys have fun.”

John left, with a wave for all of them, and Kono turned to Danny. “Why don’t you bring your phone buddy?”

“My what?” he asked, tilting his head, though he knew full well exactly who Kono was talking about.

“The person you’re always calling and texting!”

Danny nodded, the corners of his lips pulled down, and dug said phone out of his pocket.

_Dinner tonight with Chin and Kono?_

_Sure. You coming back here first?_

_Yeah, I’ll be there around six._

“Okay,” Danny said, with a firm nod, and he smiled reflexively at Kono’s squeal of delight. “I will.”

He picked up Steve from his house and was feeling satisfied enough with his current mood that he even let Steve drive to the restaurant. “Do they—do they know?” he asked, gesturing between them, and Danny shook his head.

“No. But not because I didn’t want to or anything, I promise,” Danny added hurriedly. “I just didn’t want to make them feel like they had to keep a secret since your dad didn’t know.”

“That makes sense.”

“But I’d like to tell them—if you want to, that is.”

“Yeah,” Steve said quickly, with a firm nod. “I do.”

Danny easily spotted the cousins when they got to the bar, and they wound their way through the tables, Steve’s hand light on his back.

“Steve? It’s been a long time, brah!” Chin said, surprised, giving Steve a back-slapping man-hug. When Kono looked at him curiously, he gestured at him. “It’s Steve! John’s son.”

“Oh, yeah!” Kono said, the realization dawning in her eyes. “I barely remember you.”

Steve chuckled and hugged her anyway. “Same here.”

“I didn’t know you were in town,” Chin said, after they sat down. “Your dad didn’t mention anything.”

“Yeah, I’m on leave for a few months. I haven’t been here long,” Steve said simply.

“And how do you two know each other?” Kono asked curiously. The two of them shared a glance, and Steve gestured at Danny, who nodded.

“We, uh, we met several weeks ago when I was up in the northeast,” he said, squeezing Steve’s knee under the table. “And, actually, we’re—we’re dating.” 

Danny wasn’t sure what he expected to see on their faces, but he kept a close eye on it and relaxed when it was just happiness mixed with a hint of surprise. Kono’s laugh was bright and delighted. “That’s such a great coincidence. How long did it take you guys to figure out the connection?”

“Uh, maybe about 20 minutes,” Steve said with a grin.

“That’s great, I bet John is thrilled,” Chin said. Danny tensed slightly, but he appeared to be completely serious. “Does he know?”

“Yeah, he knows,” Steve said, nodding quickly and taking a swig from his beer. “But he and I…well, we’re still working things out.”

“Well, cheers,” Kono said as she lifted her glass. “To Danny’s phone buddy.”

Danny laughed and clinked his glass with hers, eagerly welcoming Steve’s weight as he leaned into his shoulder.


	5. Chapter Five

“So!” Danny said, clapping his hands. “The aquarium today, yeah?”

Steve nodded, momentarily distracted by the bunching of Danny’s shoulder muscles as he lounged in bed. He was a multitasker, though, so he leaned down to kiss the bare, freckled skin while he talked. “And maybe one other thing.”

“What’s that?” he asked warily.

Today was the _big_ day, the day that Steve finally met Grace, and he really wanted it to be special. “I was thinking we could go to the Kahala Hotel, maybe swim with the dolphins,” he said, carefully gauging Danny’s reaction. His face shifted from suspicion to surprise to what Steve chose to believe was _fond_ exasperation.

“Steve—” he started.

“I originally wanted it to be a surprise, but I figured I should run it by you first.”

“Babe, you don’t—”

“I really want to, okay?” Steve said. “I want to do something nice for her.”

Danny covered his face with his hand and groaned. “Aw, man, not with the puppy dog eyes.” Steve grinned and shrugged, unrepentant. “Any other surprises?” Danny asked dryly.

“Well, the only way to get to swim with the dolphins is to book a night in the hotel, so…”

“Steve!” he yelled, running a hand through his hair. “Come on, even I know that place is crazy expensive.”

“Danny, I’m—I’m good, okay? The Navy pays me a very nice salary and takes care of housing and such, so I don’t really have any expenses. I would really like to do this,” he said. Danny flopped back down onto the pillows and blew out a breath, scrubbing his face with his hand. “What, what you thinking?”

“I should have let you pay for dinner last night, is what I’m thinking.”

Steve laughed and rolled on top of him—he knew he had him. “So that’s a yes, then? I actually already paid for it, so—”

“Okay, okay,” Danny said, nodding quickly. “I’m trying to be more _flexible_ anyway.”

“Oh, yeah?” Steve asked, lighting up at the opportunity. “You seemed pretty flexible last night.”

Danny groaned again and rolled over, hiding his face in his arm. His response was muffled, but Steve was pretty sure it was along the lines of _you’re the worst_ or maybe _I hate you_. Undeterred, Steve rained kisses along his shoulder until he turned back around. “Thank you for asking first,” he said, slightly grudgingly. “It can still be a surprise for Grace, if you want.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

“And just for future reference—you do not need to _buy_ her love, you get me? She already has someone to do that for her,” Danny said with a growl, curling his lip. “You just have to be you.”

Steve nodded, and he tried to keep those words in his head as his nervousness mounted throughout the morning, especially after Danny left to pick up Grace. When the Camaro rumbled into the driveway, he stood up from the couch and then sat back down again. He was completely unaccustomed to feeling so anxious, but he knew _exactly_ why—Grace was the most important part of Danny’s life, rightly so, and Steve knew that if they didn’t get along, there would be no hope of a future between him and Danny. A lot was riding on the opinion of an eight-year-old.

The door opened, and with a gulp Steve stood and watched as they came through the door, with Grace hiding a little bit behind Danny. They stared at each other for a second, and then when Grace smiled, Steve laughed and crouched down on one knee, opening his arms. Grace broke away from Danny and flung herself into Steve’s embrace. “Hi, Steve,” she said, right into his ear, and he grinned over her shoulder at Danny.

“Hey, Grace Face, it’s really nice to meet you.”

“Are we really going to the aquarium?”

“We sure are,” he said as he stood. “Is that okay with you?”

Grace nodded and Danny smiled at both of them. “Good. Give me just a minute, and we’ll go, okay?”

As soon as Danny left the room, Grace tugged at Steve’s shirt, and he obediently bent down next to her again. “Thank you, Steve,” she said, gravely serious, and he smiled.

“For what, sweetie?”

“For making Danno happy. I know he tries to hide it from me, but I think he’s been sad for a while, since we came to Hawaii. But he’s seemed a lot happier lately.”

Steve swallowed hard and ran a hand over her hair, tugging lightly on her braid. “You’re welcome, Grace. Danno makes me happy, too.”

* * *

Well, this was no good for Danny’s heart _at all_. Several paces ahead of him, Grace was holding Steve’s hand, chattering away about who knows what, and Steve was completely enraptured by whatever she was saying. Grace’s usual reticence around strangers was nowhere to be found, and they were like two peas in a pod after only a few hours. For someone who said he wasn’t very good with kids, Steve appeared to be a natural.

She lit up as they walked around the aquarium, and Steve was endlessly patient with all of her questions. It seemed like he was a walking encyclopedia on Hawaiian sea life, and Danny made a mental note to ask if he was maybe a turtle—sorry, a _honu_ —in a past life or something.

“Oh, it’s a seal!”

Danny smiled at Grace’s squeal and stepped up to where they were standing against the railing, bracketing her between him and Steve.

“It’s a Hawaiian monk seal,” Steve said. “They’re found only in Hawaii, and they’re endangered.”

Danny elbowed Steve in the side. “Hey, just like you. Well, not so much with the monk thing,” he said, lowering his voice for the last part, and Steve smirked.

“Yeah, Danno told me you were a seal,” Grace said as she looked up at Steve.

“That’s correct. It’s the name of my group in the Navy.”

“That’s kind of a silly name,” she said, wrinkling her nose, and Steve laughed.

“Well, it stands for sea, air, and land.”

“It’s also because Steve has long whiskers and barks all the time,” Danny stage-whispered, making Grace giggle. He winked at Steve as his mouth dropped open in mock outrage.

“Actually,” Steve said with a smirk, “it’s sea lions who bark, not seals.”

“Oh! So tell me, Mr. Know-it-All, what are some other differences between seals and sea lions, hmm?” Danny said, crossing his arms. 

“Well, sea lions can walk on land on their flippers, while seals just kinda flop around on their stomachs. They also—”

Steve was interrupted by the seal letting out a loud, guttural burp-type noise, startling them all and sending them into peals of laughter.

“Proves my point, babe, right there,” Danny said with a grin. “You do that _all_ the time.”

“You two are silly,” Grace decided, and Danny decided to reaffirm the point by tickling her until she was a squirming, shrieking mess. “Dannooooo, now I have to go to the bathroom!”

Danny let her go, watching like a hawk as she disappeared into the bathroom they were standing near.

“Grace told me why she likes me,” Steve said, smiling smugly, and Danny rolled his eyes.

“My god, you haven’t even told her about the dolphins yet. Let me guess, is it because you’re _soooo_ handsome?” he said dryly.

“She said I make you happy.”

Danny opened his mouth and then closed it again when nothing came out. He didn’t have a comeback for that one. “Really?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. She thought you were sad before, being in Hawaii, but you’ve been happier recently.”

Danny started to speak, but the timely return of Grace saved him from saying something that probably would’ve turned out really embarrassing and sappy.

“What else are we doing today?” she asked as she skipped up to them.

Danny gestured at Steve, raising his eyebrows, but he shook his head and took a tiny step backward. “No, you tell her.”

Grace’s head swiveled between them, and Danny knelt down on his good knee next to her. “Well, today is kind of a special occasion,” he started, “since you’re meeting Steve for the first time, and we were thinking that we might celebrate by going to swim with some dolphins. What would you say to that, huh?”

Grace’s mouth dropped open, and her squeal of excitement was truly ear-shattering. “Really?”

Steve nodded. “And we’re spending the night, too. Danno packed you a bag.”

“Oh my god, that’s so exciting! Can we get room service?” she asked, her hands clasped by her chest.

Danny laughed and nodded. “We sure can, baby.”

Her excitement seemed to multiply on their way to the Kahala, so much so that Danny was a little bit afraid she would have a nervous breakdown or shake out of her skin. Grace’s shyness made a swift reappearance when they arrived and met the two trainers that she would be swimming with, but it eased when Steve offered to get in the water with her. Danny was perfectly content in his role as poolside photographer, though he was sure that he was going to use all up of the space on his phone with all the photos and the videos. But Grace and Steve—okay, and the dolphins, too—were so cute that he couldn’t resist. My god, nothing in the world made his heart happier than his little girl’s giggles, and they were in abundant supply today. She had been pestering both him and Rachel about the activity ever since she heard about it, and by all accounts it was living up to her lofty expectations. Danny couldn’t help feeling a little smug for giving his daughter something that Stan hadn’t, but he tried to push away such an ugly feeling in favor of happier ones.

Grace was so overwhelmed by her excitement that she barely lasted through dinner—room service, which she was disproportionately excited about—and about 15 minutes of the movie they found while flipping channels. Grace had claimed the pull-out sofa bed as soon as she saw it, so Danny tucked a blanket around her and headed into the ensuite bedroom. Steve closed the door and then paused. “Should I lock it?” he asked quietly.

“You can for now, but we’ll unlock it before we go to sleep.”

“Oh, you mean we’re not going to sleep?” Steve asked, feigning surprise as he joined Danny on the bed, stripping his shirt off on the way. “What, you thinking about the last time we were in a hotel or something?”

“I’m thinking this time probably has to be quieter.”

“Oh, I’m very good at that,” Steve said seriously, and Danny rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“What about you?” he said, hauling himself up and speaking right into Danny’s ear, whisper-quiet. “Can you be totally silent?”

Danny shivered, from Steve’s words as much as the warm puffs of air. “Yeah,” he breathed, twisting his head so his lips met Steve’s. He had a better chance of being quiet if his mouth was occupied, and Steve opened easily to him, draping himself half on top of Danny.

Danny groaned— _softly_ —and slid one hand through the short hairs at Steve’s nape. He loved the rough-and-tumble, quick and hard stuff, of course, but this was delicious and relaxing in its own way. The warm, slick slide of their tongues as they made out leisurely, just sharing air and nose bumps.

Steve unbuttoned his shirt slowly, pausing halfway through to slide his hand in and rest it against Danny’s skin. He followed the trail of buttons upward with his mouth, paying special attention to the hollow of Danny’s throat where his tie usually rests.

“What, do you have ADD or something?” Danny huffed as he took it upon himself to reach around Steve and unfasten the rest of the abandoned shirt buttons.

“Sorry, got distracted,” he said, the words muffled against his neck. Danny shivered—not of his own accord, but Steve’s tongue was warm and wet and bordering on ticklish.

“I swear, if you give me a hickey like we’re 16, I will _end_ you, seriously,” he said harshly, but the way he was tilting his head back and arching up toward Steve’s mouth was probably not doing a good job of reinforcing the message.

“How about one that’s not visible?”

“Uh, I—” he stuttered, but before he could eke out more words, Steve’s mouth inched lower and the pressure increased, making Danny hiss and grip Steve’s hair tight.

“There,” Steve said, smug as he wiped his mouth and looked down at his handiwork.

Danny twisted his head and craned his neck, but he couldn’t see it. “Dear god, you are such a Neanderthal.”

“Well, I don’t really have a cave to drag you back to, so I have to make do with what I’ve got.”

Danny rolled his eyes and started to say something about the indignity of knocking people over the head with clubs, but then Steve undid both their pants and he decided that he had better things to do. “A man on a mission, very nice.”

“I’d blow you, but then I’d probably have to gag you with your own tie.”

“I’m not even wearing a tie,” Danny complained.

“Exactly.”

Danny huffed but didn’t contest the point—yeah, maybe he liked to _loudly_ appreciate Steve while he was sucking his dick, there was nothing wrong with that. He slid Steve’s shorts the rest of the way off, but Steve wrenched his lips away and dug something out of his pocket before Danny could drop them on the floor. “What kind of boy scout are you, what is that?”

“I swiped the lotion from the bathroom,” Steve said, dangling it between his fingers.

Danny’s smile quickly morphed into a frown as Steve flicked open the cap and poured some into his hand. “Aw, man, that’s coconut-scented! Come on, seriously?”

“Do you just on principle hate everything stereotypically associated with Hawaii?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I don’t,” Danny said, maybe a little prissily. “I don’t hate _you_. And the hula girls are nice, I like them, they can stay.”

“Shut up,” Steve said, smiling against his lips.

“Yes, Commander,” he said. Steve groaned, right on cue, and Danny laughed. “You’re so—”

The words got stuck in his throat as Steve straddled him and slid their dicks together in his fist, all in one smooth movement, and then it was Steve’s turn to laugh. “I’m sorry, what’s that you were saying?”

“You’re the best, don’t stop,” Danny got out in a rush, gasping. His big hand was a little rough, but everything glided so slick and easy with the lotion and with Steve’s dick next to his. Danny fought the impulse to look down—the sight would probably send him over the edge faster than would be flattering—and instead clenched his eyes shut. Steve kissed him, leisurely like before, and Danny tried to compensate for his lack of noise with his hands, sliding over Steve’s shoulders and down his broad back and around his narrow hips to grip his ass. Except the goddamn heavyweight wasn’t letting him thrust up at all, and he was keeping the pace of his hand and his hips as lazy as the kiss. Jesus Christ, Danny was going to _kill_ him.

“C’mon, babe, faster,” he slurred against Steve’s lips, but he just shook his head stubbornly.

“Shhh,” he said, apropos of nothing.

Danny knew he had to take measures into his own hands, so to speak, so he focused on every little hot spot of Steve’s that he knew, hoping that at least one of them would snap Steve’s sudden devotion to self-control. He used one hand to scratch up the back of his thigh while the other slid further around Steve’s ass, fingers dipping slightly into his crack, just enough to tease. He trailed his lips down Steve’s jaw to the tendons of his neck and stayed there for a bit before venturing up to his ear, sucking lightly on the skin below and biting at his lobe.

Normally Danny was too out of it to really recognize the signs of orgasm in either of them, but with this slow pace he was able to pick out Steve’s stuttering breath and the way his rhythm faltered slightly, as well as his own twitching thighs. Yeah, this had gone on long enough.

“C’mon, babe,” he said darkly, keeping his voice low enough that Steve would have to strain to hear him. “You gonna make me come, yeah? Nobody makes me come like you do, and you gotta do it, babe, I’m dyin’ here. Please?”

Steve whined, but Danny only had a second to relish in his victory before he was fighting the impulse to yell as Steve ratcheted up the pace. Steve twisted his head to kiss him again, but this one was sloppier, frantic, mostly just panting into each other’s mouths. Steve came first, much to his delight, with a full-body shudder that Danny could feel every inch of. His hand lost its rhythm, just jerking and squeezing randomly as Steve spilled over them, but that was enough for Danny, who hid his face in Steve’s neck as he thrust his hips up and added to the mess on his stomach.

“Fuck you, Steven,” Danny groaned, breathless. “Now I’m not gonna be able to smell coconut without getting hard.”

“All just part of my plan to make you like Hawaii, babe.”

* * *

“Danno!”

“Hey, guys,” he called out in response, and Steve turned around, careful with his precious cargo. Danny was walking across the grass toward them, trailed by John. He had worked late that evening, so Steve picked Grace up from school and they hung out until Danny texted and asked to meet them at Ala Moana Park.

“Hi, John!” Grace chirped, waving from her perch on Steve’s shoulders.

“Hi, Grace,” he said, smiling warmly as he tipped his head back to look at her. “Nice view up there?”

“It’s fun being tall,” she said solemnly, and he laughed.

Steve stopped in front of Danny and let himself look for a long second—the soft wind lifted his hair, already ruffled from the long day, and he practically glowed in the warm light of the sunset. Damn, he was handsome.

“All right, you’ve reached the final stop of the Steve express,” he announced. Grace groaned, but it turned into a loud giggle as Steve swung her off his shoulders and held her upside down for a second before setting her on her feet.

“You want some shave ice, Grace?” Danny asked. Steve shot him a look—this little distraction technique was _not_ subtle—but Grace responded eagerly, so he watched them wander off to the other side of the park, hand-in-hand.

“You’re really good with her,” John commented. Steve had _no_ idea what to do with that, so he just nodded.

“She’s great.”

He had no interest in initiating the conversation that he figured was coming, so he endured the long silence until John broke it. “I—I’m not very good at this stuff, son.”

“Yeah, well thanks to you, neither am I!” Steve said, probably a little louder than was strictly appropriate. He blew out a breath and folded himself down on a nearby bench—clearly they were doing this now. He was a little more at ease out here, at least, where he wasn’t surrounded by the constraining memories of his childhood home.

John sat down next to him, keeping his gaze firmly on the ocean. “I just want to explain, and I was hoping that you’d hear me out.”

Steve forced himself to keep his mouth shut, instead just gesturing in a _go on_ motion.

“When your mom died,” he started carefully, and Steve’s heart clenched involuntarily. “I was—I was just _wrecked_. I had no idea how to raise you and Mary on my own, even if I was in a good place. And I was in a bad place, Steve, a really bad place. I felt like I didn’t have a choice in sending you two away, if I even wanted to give the two of you a chance at a normal childhood.”

“Well, we _didn’t_ have a normal childhood. And to me, that sounds cowardly,” Steve said honestly, and John winced.

“I know, and I’m not denying that. But Steve, as a father, I would do _anything_ to protect the two of you, even if it made my life hell and made the two of you hate me. But that’s not all of it,” he admitted.

Steve leaned back and crossed his arms. “What?”

“Your mother—there is reason for me to believe that it wasn’t a car accident, it was deliberate. Based on what I was investigating. Whether it was meant for me or meant for her, I have no idea. But there was no way I was letting the two of you hang around while I figured it out.”

Steve swiped a hand over his mouth and tried to adjust to this change in his worldview. “But why didn’t you just tell me?”

“God, you were just a kid, Steve. There was no way I was subjecting you to that.”

“Yeah, well what about in all of the years _since_ then?” Steve asked, trying desperately to keep from shouting. “I’m not 15 anymore, Dad! I am an _adult_ , I’m a SEAL, for god’s sake, and I don’t need protecting.”

“That’s a hard pill to swallow, son. Ask Danny if you don’t believe me,” John said gruffly. “Especially when you’ve missed as many years as I have.”

“Whatever happened with your investigation?”

John huffed a sad, humorless laugh. “Nothing—not yet, anyway. That was part of the reason I haven’t told you, actually. I figured there’s nothing worse than saying that I was too…too consumed by your mother’s murder to be a good father when I haven’t even solved it yet.”

“Are you still working on it?”

“Off and on,” he said with a nod. “I think it’s deep…HPD, Yakuza, maybe more. I can—I can tell you more about it, if you want, sometime.”

Steve nodded, struggling to keep a lid on the fierce impulse to pry his dad for more information, _now_ , and start enacting revenge. He took a deep breath and attempted to use those meditation techniques that the Navy kept trying to teach them. It wasn’t really working.

“I know that we don’t have much of a relationship right now,” John said, “and I don’t know what you want. But I would at least appreciate the chance to get to know you a little bit, as an adult.”

“I would like that, too,” Steve said, nodding.

John smiled, a tiny one, and nodded. “What about Mary? Have you, uh, have you seen her?”

“I hadn’t in a long time, but we had lunch a few weeks ago, when I was in San Diego.”

“And how is she?”

“Really good, actually. She has a good job, seems happy. Said she might even come for a visit while I’m here.”

A happy screech pierced their bubble, and Steve looked up to see Grace running toward him, carefully balancing two shave ice cones in her hands. “Steve! I got you pineapple, your favorite.”

“Aw, thank you, sweetie,” he said, taking it from her. He forewent the spoon and took a healthy bite off the top, making her laugh.

“Danno said that cherry was a, uh, _patently inoffensive_ flavor,” she said, looking up at Danny for confirmation, “so I got that one for you, John.”

“Well, thank you,” he said, looking touched at the gesture. “That’s perfect.”

She sat down on the grass in front of them, while Danny perched on the bench arm next to him. Steve leaned into him, absorbing some of his ever-present warmth to offset the shave ice chill, and squinted at the sun’s rays dropping down into the water. He let their chatter float over him and breathed easier than he had in a long time.

* * *

Danny wanted nothing more than to pry and ask questions about Steve’s conversation with John, but he was comfortable in his role as the _talker_ in their relationship and knew that it would go over better if Steve approached him. He didn’t like being pressed for emotional details, and Danny kept that in mind as Steve drove them home. Turned out he didn’t have to wait long, though, because as soon as he came back from tucking Grace in, Steve plopped down next to him on the couch, handed him a beer, and opened his mouth.

“He thinks my mom’s car accident wasn’t really an accident,” he said bluntly, and Danny gasped. 

He was momentarily speechless—it wasn’t too often that he experienced true, unadulterated shock. ”What? You mean murder? Seriously?”

“Yeah. Because of a case he was working.”

“Holy fuck.”

“Pretty much sums it up,” Steve said with a dry chuckle. He sunk down in the couch and took a long drag of his beer.

“Was it meant for him or was it like—a message?”

“He’s not sure.”

“Well, that explains part of the whole sending-you-away thing, I guess.”

“Maybe,” Steve said with a huff. “Or maybe he’s just paranoid.”

“God, even still. If there was even a chance that someone was threatening my family...,” Danny trailed off, shaking his head. “I truly have no idea what I would do. Did he give you any more details?”

“Only that he hasn’t really figured anything out. He thinks it’s some kind of conspiracy, from what I could tell—something with Yakuza and HPD, he said.”

“Wow,” Danny said. He leaned back and knocked his knee against Steve’s. “So what are you gonna do?”

“No idea,” he said with a rueful smile.


	6. Chapter Six

He and Steve had just finished eating lunch up on the North Shore when Danny’s phone rang. Since Danny was driving, he dug it out of his pocket and handed it to Steve. “It’s Chin,” he reported.

“Can you answer and put it on speaker?” Danny asked, and Steve nodded. “Chin, what’s up?”

“Danny, hey. We got an address as well a warrant for Fredrickson. It’s 738 Queens Ave., up on the North Shore.”

“That’s great, Chin,” Danny said, tucking his lower lip into his teeth and pumping his fist. “I’m nearby. How far away are you guys?”

“We’ll be there in…30 minutes, based on how Kono’s driving,” he said, and Danny laughed at Kono’s squawk of protest.

“Got it, meet you there,” Danny said. He nodded at Steve, who pressed the button to end the call.

“Is this guy that gun runner you guys have been looking for?” Steve asked curiously.

“Yeah, these bastards are real sneaky, and it took us forever to get an address. Now that we have a warrant, hopefully we can take down their whole crew.”

“Then what the hell are you waiting for? We’re only a few blocks away!”

Danny turned in his seat and looked at Steve in disbelief. “Are you actually insane? I prefer to have back-up when I enter the home of someone who _literally_ deals guns for a living!” he yelled.

“I’ll be your back-up,” he said, affronted, as if it were obvious.

“Oh, really?” Danny said with a snort. “With what, your sheer power of will?”

“I have my gun,” he said, pulling his SIG from his pants, and Danny groaned.

“Jesus. Why do you _carry your gun_ around with you?” he said in dismay.

“Are you really asking me that right now? Come on, let’s go!”

Danny just shook his head as he cruised to a stop a few houses down from the address that Chin gave them. “You’re crazy. And you’re _not_ a cop.”

“No,” Steve allowed, “but I _am_ a highly-decorated Navy SEAL. I know how to handle dangerous situations.”

“I have no doubt that’s true. Answer’s still no.”

Steve huffed and folded his arms across his chest, glaring at Danny. Danny just stared right back—maybe this tough-guy shtick worked on enlisted sailors, but Danny was in no way under Steve’s command and was therefore impervious to it. “Danny, 30 minutes is a long time. Especially when they’re thinking about making a run for it.”

“And how in the hell would you know that?”

“Because the curtains on the second floor have been rustling, and someone keeps looking down at our car.”

Danny heaved a big sigh and gazed out the window toward the house. They had been on this guy’s trail for _weeks_ , and he really wanted to be done with it before this asshole sold another gun that killed someone. “I would just like to say for the record, this is a terrible idea.”

“Great, let’s go,” Steve said, and before Danny could even take a breath, Steve was out of the car and stalking up toward the house, gun-first.

“Jesus _fuck_ , Steve,” he hissed as he followed him, drawing his own gun. “I was _thinking_ about it, I didn’t say to do it.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Steve said absently. He stopped to the side of the front door and tried to peer through the curtain of the side window. “I’ll kick down the door, you cover me.”

Danny rolled his eyes and tried the handle gently, feeling it give in his hand. “Relax, Rambo, the door isn’t even locked.”

“Rambo was in the _Army_ ,” Steve whispered, but Danny just stared at him. “Wait, give me your tie.”

“What, why?” Danny protested, batting his hands away from his neck. “I know you don’t like them, but now is _not the time_ , Steven.”

“Well, it’s not like I have handcuffs on me,” Steve said dryly. “So I’ll use that instead.”

“God, you’re ridiculous,” Danny said, but he obediently lifted his chin and allowed Steve to unknot the tie, slip it off, and stuff it into his pocket.

They silently entered the house, guns-first, and peered into the front room. Steve elbowed him and gave a series of complicated-looking hand signals, but Danny just ignored him with a blank look and stepped forward on his own. They cleared the first-floor rooms, so smoothly that Danny didn’t even pause to notice how seamlessly they worked together. There was only one room left, and Steve nodded at him, gesturing with his gun. Danny darted in first, and he saw one wiry guy, Fredrickson, lounging on the couch—who jumped and was clearly surprised to see them.

“Police!” Steve barked. “Hands up, nice and slow.”

The guy hesitated, clearly thinking about his options as his gaze darted between Steve and the gun that was resting on the coffee table in front of him. Steve just squared his stance and readjusted his grip on his own gun. “Do it, I dare you,” he snarled, and Frederickson swallowed hard. He apparently deduced that a draw with this crazy-looking guy would not end well for him, so he slowly raised his hands above his head and slid to his knees. Danny let Steve cover for him as he holstered his gun and stepped forward, bringing his arms down behind his back.

There was a sudden crash from upstairs, and Steve took off like a bat out of hell. “Fuck,” Danny muttered as he hurriedly cuffed Frederickson. He grabbed the gun off the table, tucking it into the back of his pants as he rushed up the stairs. He turned the corner and tried to calm his racing heart.

Another guy—one who outweighed Steve by at least a hundred pounds—was on his stomach, groaning, and his hands were behind his back, secured with Danny’s tie via a strong-looking knot, clearly Navy-issue.

“Look at that, your ties _do_ come in handy,” Steve said proudly. He wasn’t even breathing hard, that asshole.

Danny pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and took a deep breath. Steve was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it. “Okay,” he said, from behind his hands. He blinked his eyes open and shook his head. “Okay, let’s take these guys outside, and then I can start figuring out how to explain this.”

Steve hauled the guy to his feet as if he weighed about as much as a toddler and frog-marched him down the stairs and out the door. Danny followed, veering off to grab Fredrickson from the living room. They deposited them onto the front porch, and Danny tugged Steve by the sleeve onto the lawn.

“Steve, you cannot just yell ‘police’ when you are _not_ , in fact, the police!” he said, gesturing wildly and keeping one eye on the two gun runners.

“But you are, and we got them, so I’m not sure what the problem is here,” Steve said, crossing his arms again and looking down his nose at Danny.

“The problem is, this makes it very complicated when I write the report. Because you are, again, not a police officer.”

“Yeah, but that’s _your_ problem. I just helped.”

“I hate you, I hate you so much,” Danny muttered, scrubbing a hand through his hair. He whirled around at the sound of cars, and he waved at his team as they came up the front walk.

“Danny?” Chin asked, tilting his head. He looked pointedly at the two guys sitting on the porch, both looking thoroughly dejected.

Danny swiped his hand over his mouth and grimaced. “We, uh, we cleared the house. These two guys were in there, and there are some guns, too.”

“Steve, what are you doing here?” John asked, taken aback, and the man in question frowned, looking mulish.

“It’s a long story,” Danny said with a sigh. “You can read all about it in the report.”

John looked wary but ultimately turned away to enter the house with Kono and Chin, and Danny returned his attention to Steve.

“Remember when I told you that you didn’t have any patience?” he said, poking Steve in the chest. He rolled his eyes when Steve got a hazy, smug look in his eye, clearly remembering that night they spent on the phone. “Well, you definitely don’t. This is proof.”

“I’ll show you again tonight,” he said lowly, dipping his head to speak right into Danny’s ear. “Just how patient I can be.”

“You are so inappropriate,” Danny complained, shoving him away. “I am at _work_. Your father is standing about 15 yards away.”

Steve shrugged, completely unrepentant, and wandered off somewhere—probably to inappropriately involve himself in more law enforcement work—while Danny handled the rest of the scene.

* * *

“So I believe you said something earlier about learning how to be patient again?” Danny said, lounging in the doorway to his bedroom. He was winding a tie between his fingers, and he grinned at how Steve perked up, tossing aside the magazine he had been reading.

“Yeah?” he asked eagerly, sitting up straight against the headboard. “What’d you have in mind, exactly?”

“I dunno,” Danny lied, his eyes roaming freely across all the tanned skin of Steve’s bare chest. “You probably deserve some sort of punishment for that little stunt you pulled this afternoon. And you _did_ tell me that you can be patient.”

“I can, and I’ll prove it to you.”

“Interesting,” he said as he stalked closer to the bed. Steve grabbed him by the front of his shirt to pull him down, and he went willingly. Danny wrapped an arm around his back as Steve rolled toward him, kissing him deeply.

“So what are you going to do with this?” Steve asked, tugging at the end of the tie that was still clenched in Danny’s fist. “You gonna tie me up?”

“Are you okay with that?” he whispered into Steve’s ear, running his tongue along the curve of it and tugging on his earlobe with his teeth.

“Oh, yeah,” Steve said with a grin. He twisted his head to get back at Danny’s lips and slipped a hand around his neck.

“Safe word,” Danny said against his mouth, and he nipped at Steve’s lower lip when he groaned.

“But I trust you.”

“I know you do, and I appreciate that. I trust you, too. But still—safe word, c’mon, what is it?”

“Pineapple,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

“Well, lord knows I don’t want anything pineapple-related in the bedroom. That means no pineapple-scented lube, you hear me?” he said. He pointed at Steve, who pulled out his big puppy-dog eyes.

“But what about pineapple-flavored condoms?”

“You will never get laid again,” Danny said, but it was an empty promise, especially considering that he was currently mouthing his way down Steve’s chest. Steve was laughing, so he clearly knew it, too.

Danny switched his attention to Steve’s arm, licking along his tattoo and tracing the curve of his bicep with his thumb. He bit lightly on the tender skin of Steve’s inner arm, making him shiver, and drew his hand down the meat of Steve’s forearm to circle around his wrist, using that grip to tug his arm up. He repeated the process on the other arm, and when he was done, Steve’s wrists were touching above his head, and his chest was heaving. Danny got up to grab another tie from his closet, but Steve stayed still and in position, eyes tracking his movement across the room.

Danny climbed back on the bed, both ties in his hands, and swung one knee over Steve’s torso to straddle him. He took each of Steve’s wrists and tied them carefully to the headboard, sending up a silent prayer for being prescient enough to buy a headboard with slats. “You can make ‘em tighter, Danny,” he said, curling and uncurling his fists as he looked up at the knots.

“I know, babe,” he said fondly as he kissed Steve on the tip of his nose. He stripped off Steve’s boxers then sat back, right in the cradle of Steve’s hips, and mapped his hands over the planes of his chest.

“What are you gonna do with me, hmm?”

“Not sure yet. Can I just look at you?” Danny asked, and he laughed when Steve groaned and turned his face into his arm. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Just sit here and compliment you all night, make you take it.”

“Danny,” Steve whined, drawing out the word. He shifted his hips, jostling Danny, and his face was flushed a dull red.

“Okay, okay…I won’t subject you to _that_ much torture.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re beautiful, though, you know.”

That was about enough sappiness at one time for Danny—and judging by the hooded look in Steve’s eye, it was enough for him, too—so he dropped down and used his mouth to follow the faint flush of red on Steve’s chest, tracing each tendril of color with his lips and his tongue. He nudged his nose through the coarse curls of hair until he reached a nipple, sucking and biting lightly until Steve hissed and thrashed. Danny prayed that his ties would make it through this unscathed—his bed, too.

Steve was already hard against Danny’s stomach, so he slid his body down slowly, providing lots of friction as he settled in between Steve’s legs and started mouthing at his hip. “Danny, _fuck_ ,” he bit out. He seemed much more on edge than usual, especially considering that they’d barely started, and Danny hid a grin in the hollow of Steve’s hip—this was gonna be fun. He sucked a dark mark next to Steve’s hip bone and studiously avoided his dick, although the tiny thrusts of Steve’s hips were enough to bump his cock against Danny’s cheek with every pass.

After another minute of teasing, Danny finally tilted his head, just enough to languorously run his tongue over the tip of Steve’s dick and collect the drops of pre-come that had beaded there. “Jesus Christ,” he said, his voice low and raspy enough that it made Danny’s own cock throb in his shorts.

Steve’s thrust was a little firmer this time, nearly enough to dislodge Danny, so he slung a heavy arm across his hips and only sucked a few more times before pulling off. Steve whined when he pushed himself up and off the bed, but Danny ignored him as he stripped off his shirt and his shorts. Steve spread his legs eagerly when Danny reached over into the nightstand for lube and slicked his fingers but then groaned when Danny reached behind himself instead. “Oh god, Danny, shit,” he said breathlessly, his eyes wide and a little wild around the edges. Danny smirked and situated himself over Steve’s hips so that his wrist bumped against Steve’s dick with every movement of his hand.

“Can you turn around?” Steve asked, with a dirty smirk, and Danny huffed out a laugh even as his cheeks colored.

“Uh, no. Sorry, babe,” he said. Steve groaned and Danny flicked at his nipple, making him hiss. “I’m in control, remember?”

Steve blew out a breath and nodded, thrusting up so that his dick slid teasingly along the skin of Danny’s ass. “Don’t move,” he warned, “or I’ll tie your feet, too.”

Steve inhaled sharply but immediately stilled his lower body. Danny knew he could get out of the loose knots in about two seconds if he really wanted to, and that just intensified the burn of arousal slicing through his gut—Steve was there, in his bed, lying stock-still and awaiting Danny’s instruction just because he _wanted_ to. His jaw slackened at the thought and he tipped forward, bracing one arm next to Steve’s shoulder as he quickly worked two fingers in and out of himself.

“Goddamn it, Danny, you’re so fucking hot,” Steve said hoarsely, the words spilling out of him, unbidden.

Danny huffed out a breathless chuckle and gasped as he inadvertently nudged at his prostate. “I’m not the hot one here, babe,” he said, paying no attention to Steve’s eye roll. The anticipation was getting to him, a little too much, so he quickly slipped the condom on and started edging himself slowly onto Steve’s dick.

Steve, holding his breath, was silent and still except for his fingers clenching and releasing the headboard slats. Then Danny relaxed and sank all the way down, and the noise coming out of Steve’s mouth sounded suspiciously like a choked-off sob. “Fuck,” Danny said, tracing his fingers down Steve’s abs as he forced himself to stay still. “Look at you, just lying there for me.”

Danny distracted himself from his orgasm and focused on the rhythm, alternating randomly between rocking leisurely and moving up and down with intent. After several minutes he could tell Steve was getting close—his breathing was measured, careful and he was swallowing convulsively—so Danny pulled off with a wince and sat back across Steve’s upper thighs, taking his dick in hand. Steve whined and strained against his restraints. “Oh, fuck, Danny, no, I was so close. Fuck, please.”

Steve continued to babble, but Danny could barely hear him as he stripped his dick furiously and clenched his knees around Steve’s hips. Aiming carefully, he really couldn’t tell which of them was making more noise as he came in several long spurts all over Steve’s dick and hips. He immediately curled his hand around Steve’s cock, flushed a dark red, and gently rubbed his own come into the sensitive skin. “Danny, Danny,” Steve said frantically. “Can you come again, can I make you come again?”

Danny huffed a laugh and nodded. He was good for two a decent percentage of the time, and he was pretty sure that this was an appropriate scenario. He laid his weight down carefully, avoiding Steve’s dick for the most part, and grinded against the groove of Steve’s hip until he was hard again. With the way Steve was moving against him and murmuring filth in his ear, interspersed with fierce kisses, it didn’t take long.

“Danny,” Steve said, with a genuine whimper, and the words shook him out of his daze. Steve looked _wrecked_ , sweaty and wild-eyed, and he was twitching, trying to stay still. “God, Danny, please.”

“Yeah, babe,” Danny said, whispering because it was as loud as he could get. “I gotcha.”

He kneeled up again and settled himself above Steve’s dick before sliding all the way down again in one smooth motion. Steve cried out, and Danny nodded frantically. “You can move, babe, c’mon,” he said, mainly because he was too tired to do much of anything. Steve planted his feet on the bed, and Danny leaned back gratefully against his thighs, holding himself up a little so Steve had room to move.

He clearly had a lot of energy and tension saved up, and he snapped his hips, hard enough that it would be seriously hurting Danny if they hadn’t been doing this regularly. He came after only about a dozen thrusts, calling out Danny’s name brokenly as he turned his face into his arm. Danny reached for his own dick, which was throbbing and dripping now, but Steve made a disapproving noise and jerked his head.

Getting the message, Danny swallowed hard and shuffled forward on his knees. After leaning down for a quick kiss, he slid one hand under Steve’s head, lifting it carefully to make him more comfortable. He rubbed the fingers of his other hand against Steve’s face, relishing the scrape of his stubble against the pad of his thumb as he slid just the head of his dick into Steve’s mouth. The noise that came out of him was raw and pained, and Danny would be afraid that he was hurting him if it weren’t for the heated, thrilled look in his eyes. Suddenly lightheaded, Danny moved his hips just a little, holding himself back and just enjoying the friction of Steve’s lips. He was so eager, though, sucking and licking and looking up at Danny with those fucking eyes, that it lasted several minutes less than Danny wanted. He came with a hoarse cry, pulling back so he spilled across Steve’s lips and his chest.

Danny stayed upright just long enough to get his breath back, then he pulled off and slumped against Steve’s side, using the last of his energy to untie Steve’s wrists.

“Jesus Christ,” Steve said, wide-eyed as he shook out his arms. “That was—”

“Yeah,” he said with a laugh as he returned Steve’s dopey grin.

* * *

Danny shielded his eyes from the sun and rummaged through their pile of stuff for Steve’s sunglasses. Going to the beach had not been his idea of a fun day, but Grace and Steve ganged up on him, and really, what was he supposed to do in the face of that kind of pressure? The two of them had been so happy when he grudgingly agreed that he knew he was pretty much screwed from then on. He had a hard enough time denying them things separately, but when they were together…let’s just say he folded faster than a sandcastle at high tide.

“Where did Steve go, Danno?” Grace asked, looking up at him from under her hat as Danny applied yet another layer of sunscreen to her back.

“I’m not sure, monkey.” Steve had run off as soon as they found their spot, claiming that he needed to pick something up. Danny was more than a little afraid of what he would come back with—though to his credit, Steve had found them a lovely beach, one that was a little off the beaten path and not crawling with tourists.

“Ooh, there he is!” Grace said, pointing over Danny’s shoulder. He turned his head and sighed—Steve was jogging across the sand toward them, easily juggling a short surfboard and a large beach umbrella. He wasn’t as surprised as he could have been, considering that his two negotiators had been pestering him to allow Steve to give her lessons. And after a little consultation with Rachel, he’d finally agreed.

“One surfboard for Grace,” Steve said, handing it carefully to her, “and one umbrella for our sun-hating haole.” He winked at Grace, who giggled.

“Where in the world did you get that?” Danny asked.

“Old family friend rents boards out here. You ready, Grace?”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure?” Danny asked, scratching idly at his chest. “Is it safe? I mean, I can go out there and help watch—”

“Danny,” Steve said calmly, curling a heavy hand around his forearm. “I am a Navy SEAL. That means I am a very good swimmer, and I practically feel more at home in the ocean than I do on land. I promise that I can take care of her out there.”

Danny heaved a breath. “I know.” Because he did—he had no doubts that Steve could do more things in the water than Danny even knew existed and that he would do anything to protect Grace. “But you see _one_ shark, and you guys are outta there, okay?”

“Deal,” Steve said, as his face split into a grin. Grace cheered and dragged Steve by the hand into the shallows, clearly wanting to swim before surfing.

Danny set up the umbrella and settled into the beach chair that they’d brought. Even he could admit that here in the shade, with a cool breeze, it was actually pretty comfortable. He tried to relax and not watch Grace like a hawk, but it was hard to resist. They were playing some sort of game that involved dunking and splashing, and by the looks of it, Grace was winning. She jumped and shoved at Steve, who fell dramatically into the water with a big splash, and Danny realized that he was grinning.

He shook his head and dug through their bag for the novel that he’d been trying to get through for months. He took his eyes off the water for long enough to read a couple chapters and even doze off for a few minutes, lulled into contentment by Grace’s happy giggles. He startled awake when he heard their voices coming closer, and he took advantage of the opportunity to grab Grace and apply another layer of sunscreen. “You two fish having fun out there?”

“Yes!” she said, wiggling in Danny’s grip.

Steve braced a hand on his shoulder and leaned in for a kiss. “Aw, man, you’re dripping everywhere,” Danny groused, though the cool water felt good on his skin. He pushed at Steve’s chest lightly, but he just grinned and ducked down for another kiss. Danny sighed, pretending to be exasperated, but he enjoyed the taste of salt water on Steve’s lips.

“Can we surf now, Steve, please?” Grace asked, and he nodded.

“You bet. But we’re going to start on the sand, so you learn how to stand up properly.”

They situated themselves just in front of Danny, so he had a great view as Steve demonstrated the moves, his muscles moving easily under his smooth skin. Grace imitated him and before too long was going through the motions nearly as smoothly. They moved into the water, and Danny settled into his chair to watch his daughter learn to surf.

* * *

Steve waded out of the water, tugging his shorts down his legs, and grinned at Danny as he accepted the towel he was holding out. “How’d we look out there?”

Danny smirked and looked him up and down pointedly. “Well, Grace looked wonderful.”

“She sure did,” Steve said, laughing. The waves were small that day, and she did a great job for her first time.

“Did you have fun, monkey?” Danny asked.

“So fun!” she said, nodding vigorously. “You should try, Danno.”

He grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t know, I’m not sure if surfing is my thing,” he said.

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” Steve said, smiling inwardly—he was pretty sure he could convince Danny otherwise if he tried hard enough. And by the look in Danny’s eye and his scowl, he was thinking the same thing.

“We actually need to hurry,” he said, turning toward Grace. “I got a text from your mom, and she’s going to pick you up here instead. She should be here in a few minutes.”

“Okay! I need to go to the bathroom, though.”

“Why don’t you get your stuff together and then I’ll go with you?”

Grace nodded and started gathering her things, while Danny stepped closer to Steve and lowered his voice.

“Put on a shirt, god. You look like some kind of beach bum.”

“This is Hawaii,” he said, spreading his arms. “I don’t have to put on a shirt if I don’t want to.” 

“Yeah, but we _civilized_ people like to actually wear clothes.”

“I’m sorry, am I distracting you or something?” he asked lowly, and he grinned when Danny just frowned harder.

“Shut up. And put your damn shirt on.”

Steve caught the shirt that Danny threw at his face, but he slung it over his shoulder instead of putting it on. “I’ll wait by the car, okay?”

He trudged through the sand to the grassy area by the parking lot and set Grace’s surfboard down before brushing the sand off his feet. He crossed his arms and passively surveyed the area, as was his custom, but bumped right into someone when he spun around on his heel. She yelped in surprise and stumbled, but Steve shot an arm out and managed to catch her by the elbow before she hit the ground. “I’m so sorry,” he said, giving the pretty dark-haired woman a quick once-over to make sure she looked okay.

“No, no, it was my fault, I was looking at my phone and not where I was going.”

“Still, I should have been more aware.”

“Ah, yes, well—you take up a lot of space,” she said, giving him a longer once-over than he’d given her, and Steve bit his lip to keep from smiling. He scanned the grass around them and spotted an iPhone, which he bent down to grab.

“I believe this is yours,” he said, presenting it to her gallantly with a warm smile. 

“Oh, uh, thank you,” she said, clearly flustered, and Steve smirked. He had no interest in, well, anyone except for Danny, but it was good to know that he could still pull out the Smooth Dog skills if he needed to.

“Of course.”

“Your surfboard looks a bit small for you,” she said as she gestured at Grace’s board by his feet.

He laughed. “Yeah, I would look a little ridiculous on this one. Now, you,” he said, crossing his arms, if only to watch her eyes glaze over a little again, “you must be a surfer.”

“Oh, no,” she said with a chuckle, tucking her hair behind her ear. “If you can’t tell from the accent, I’m not exactly from around here. Plus, it doesn’t appear that I have enough tattoos to be a surfer.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a requirement,” he said with a grin. “Only encouraged.”

“They’re, uh, very nice,” she said, blinking. Very—colorful.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Oh good, you guys have met.”

Danny’s voice came from behind him, and Steve whirled around in surprise. What the—oh, god.

“Rachel?” he said, pointing at the woman he’d been talking to and looking at Danny.

“Steve?” she said in the same breath, imitating his pose.

“Uh-huh,” Danny said slowly, looking at them both with his head tilted.

Well, shit.

Rachel recovered admirably and turned toward Grace. “Did you have a good time?”

“So fun! Steve gave me a surfing lesson.”

“Well, that was very nice of him. Why don’t you say goodbye and then wait in the car for a minute so I can talk to your dad.”

Grace headed for Steve first, and he promptly dropped to one knee so he could hug her properly. “Bye, Steve. Thank you for swimming with me and for teaching me how to surf.”

“Anytime, sweetie.”

Danny picked Grace up, squirms and all, for a hug and a smacking kiss on the cheek before she trotted obediently to Rachel’s car.

“So _this_ is Steve?” Rachel asked, pointing at him again.

“Again, yes,” Danny said, clearly confused by her hostility. “Why? What’s going on?”

“He _flirted_ with me,” she hissed, and Danny’s eyes widened. He turned to Steve, who promptly spluttered.

“She flirted with me first!” he said, gesturing at himself. “I was just trying to be polite!”

“Um, _what_?” Danny said, spreading his hands. “What the hell happened while I was in the bathroom? Are you two old fuck buddies or something? Because I don’t think I could handle that, truly.”

“Daniel, honestly, must you be so crass,” she said with a sigh.

“Yeah, _Daniel_ ,” Steve repeated, smirking, but Danny just glared at him.

“What exactly did you get up to, huh?”

“He said something about how I looked like a _surfer_!”

“She said she liked my tattoos!” Steve countered, and Rachel immediately blushed.

“Okay, we need to go,” she said quickly. “Glad you all had fun. Goodbye, Daniel. Very—uh, very nice to meet you, Steve.”

“Likewise!” he called out to her back as she hurried away.

Danny watched her go for a long moment and then turned toward Steve, blinking slowly. “Seriously, what the fuck just happened? I’m so confused.”

“Your ex has a crush on me, Danno. Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Steve said, waving his hand. He slung an arm over Danny’s shoulders and guided him, sputtering, to the Camaro.


	7. Chapter Seven

Danny felt a sense of déjà vu as he again leaned against his car at the airport, waiting for a McGarrett. But this time Steve was with him, and he had no idea who he was looking for. After a few weeks of trying, Steve had successfully convinced Mary to come for a visit, if only for a long weekend.

“There she is,” Steve said, pointing, and Danny craned his neck to get a better look as she came into view. The short, blonde woman that he saw didn’t look much like Steve, and he was wondering if he was even looking at the right person when Steve stepped forward and hugged her. He couldn’t hear their greetings, but he smiled warmly when they turned toward him.

“Mary, this is Danny,” Steve said, gesturing.

She didn’t say anything at first, just tilted her head and looked at him for a long second. “Steve didn’t give you enough credit.”

Danny furrowed his brow and turned his upper body to look at Steve, who appeared as confused as he was. “How have you been short-changing me to your sister?”

“Mary, what the hell are you talking about?”

“I asked Steve if you were hot,” she explained to Danny, “and all he said was that you were handsome. He wouldn’t elaborate.”

“Handsome, Steven?” Danny said, turning again toward Steve in mock anger and leaning forward with his hands in his pockets. “All I get is handsome? With no elaboration whatsoever? I’m not even _hot_?”

“Handsome is good!” Steve protested. “What’s wrong with handsome?”

“He’s very hot. Why didn’t you tell me, Stevie, were you scared that I would steal him away from you? I probably could.”

“Oh my god, Mary,” he said, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

He had his aneurysm face on, so Danny laughed delightedly as he stepped forward to give Mary a hug. He really liked anyone or anything that could get under Steve’s skin so easily. “I think we’re going to get along.”

“Anyone that calls my brother on his shit is good with me.”

Steve just shook his head and grabbed Mary’s bag, tossing it in the trunk. “Let’s go,” he said, ushering Danny toward the backseat with a grin.

“So you let him drive your car,” Mary said, twisting in her seat to look at him, and Danny sighed.

“Sometimes. It’s a long story.”

“Guess Stevie’s just as much of a control freak as he was when he was younger, then?”

“Oh, I bet you have great stories about _Stevie_ as a kid,” he said, and the man in question groaned.

“Can we not? Please?”

“I really think we need to,” Mary said, and Danny agreed readily.

Steve’s ears grew red on the drive as she regaled Danny with his various embarrassing exploits as a child and a teenager, and Danny was practically crying with laughter by the time they pulled up to his house. He had graciously offered Mary his couch, and she accepted that over the potential awkwardness of staying with John or shelling out for a hotel.

“I need a shower,” Mary declared, once they got settled inside. “I smell like an airplane.”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Danny said. “You can use Grace’s room, she’s not coming over until tomorrow.”

After Mary was situated, he came back into the kitchen and stood next to Steve as he prepped a few steaks for dinner. “You don’t think I’m hot,” he said, pushing his finger against Steve’s chest, just to get him to make that face again. 

“Danny,” he whined. Bingo. “I think you’re very hot.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, really. Do I not show it enough?” he asked, boxing Danny in against the counter with his arms. He slid one hand down to squeeze Danny’s ass and started to slowly lower himself to his knees.

“Okay, you may have a good point,” Danny said airily, as he tugged Steve back to his feet. They couldn’t really start anything right now, not with Mary in the next room. “But still.”

“I will put up a billboard on Ala Moana, telling the world how hot I think you are. Or an ad in the newspaper, your pick.”

Danny chuckled and tilted his head up to capture Steve’s lips. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that someday when you’ve done something bad.”

* * *

“Wow,” Mary said softly. “It looks the same.”

“It does,” Steve agreed. The two of them were outside John’s house, leaning against the Camaro and delaying the inevitable. John had decided to throw a little barbecue in honor of Mary’s visit, and since they were fashionably late, the house was teeming with people. Danny and Grace had already gone inside, leaving Steve and Mary to work up their courage alone.

“So you said things are better?”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “We’ve talked some, I know he’s really happy that we’re back. And I told you about Mom.”

Mary winced. “God, I don’t even want to think about that.”

“Me neither,” he said, wrapping his hand around her shoulder and tugging her under his arm. “We don’t have to, it’ll be okay.”

“I guess I kind of understand where he was coming from...maybe. I’m still mad, though.”

“I think it’ll take a long time for the anger to go away. It’s starting to, though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I haven’t been back _here_ , though, since our first conversation, which did not go well. The house looks the same on the inside, too, it was so strange.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Okay, let’s go,” he said, but he couldn’t seem to make himself step forward.

Mary slung her arm around his waist and tugged him forward. “C’mon, big brother. You’re a big, bad SEAL. You can’t be scared of a house.”

He chuckled as she led them toward the front door. “Should I knock?” she whispered. “That feels weird.”

The door swung open before Steve had a chance to respond. “Hi, Mary,” John said, his smile more than a little shaky. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Hi, Dad,” she said quietly. After a long minute, Mary untangled herself from Steve and wrapped her arms around John, surprising the both of them, from the look in his dad’s eye.

Mary’s shoulders were shaking a little, so Steve rested his hand on her back and nodded at John. “Dad.”

“Hey, son,” he said, his own eyes suspiciously bright. He lifted one arm from Mary and laid his hand on Steve’s shoulder. It wasn’t quite a three-way hug, but it was close enough, especially for them.

Steve stepped away after a minute, leaving the two of them to reunite in their own way. He wasn’t sure whether it was the truth or just an illusion, but the house seemed brighter and fresher than the last time he was here. Still, he didn’t linger and instead moved out to the lanai, where everyone had gathered. He spotted Grace in the water with Kono, Danny and Chin talking by the grill, and several other unfamiliar people he assumed were from HPD. Danny popped up next to him, holding out an open beer, and Steve took it with a grateful smile.

The rest of the evening was actually quite pleasant. Mary and John had talked some, from what he could tell, and she didn’t seem unhappy. Steve wasn’t quite comfortable yet being in the house, so whenever it got to be too much, he and Grace went into the ocean. It was nice, though, being able to replace bad memories with new ones of this family he was slowly creating for himself.

He really liked Danny’s team—he and Chin got to reminisce about the good ol’ Kukui High days, while he and Kono liked to compare self-defense strategies and sniper techniques. She was usually the one asking for advice, but after seeing her skills in both arenas, Steve was pretty sure there were tips he could pick up from her, as well. And considering that these two were responsible for watching Danny’s back, he was greatly comforted knowing that they were more than competent.

After a while, John wandered over to sit next to him, and Steve stiffed automatically in response before catching himself. He was better than this, he could handle this. After all, he had promised everyone—Danny, his dad, himself—that he would try. “So you’ve been keeping up with my career,” he said, not bothering to phrase it as a question. Danny had known, from John, Steve’s rank and the fact that he was a SEAL—that sort of information wasn’t publicly available.

John nodded. “I’m still friends with Joe, he does a good job at filling me in when there’s news. You’ve accomplished so much, son—you know I’m proud of you, right?”

Steve swallowed hard and tried to accept the praise, without qualification. “Thanks, Dad.”

“So Naval Intelligence now, huh? Do you like it more than the SEALs?”

“It’s still a mix of both, although I see less direct SEAL combat now. Which isn’t too bad—all the baby SEALs are more than a decade younger than me and make me feel old,” Steve said with a chuckle, rubbing his hand over his face. “But I do like it. I’ve done a lot of good work, and I’m satisfied with what I’ve achieved so far.”

“All a father wants,” John said slowly, looking down, “is to know that his children are happy. Are you happy? With your career and with your life.”

“Well, my career _is_ my life,” he said honestly. “Which I was happy with for a long time and thought I would be happy with forever. But over the past year or so, I was kinda getting the feeling that I was…missing out on certain things, I guess. But I don’t really feel that way anymore.”

John nodded and paused. “You mean Danny?”

Steve nodded curtly but didn’t elaborate—he wasn’t yet ready to talk with his dad about his relationship. John didn’t seem to get that message, though, because he pressed on.

“Was it, uh, has it been difficult being in the military with your orientation?”

Steve groaned inwardly and wished for someone to come along and interrupt them. He even took a quick, covert look around, but everyone was farther away and preoccupied with their current conversations. Shit. John was shifting in his seat, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, and Steve had to give him a bit of credit—this wasn’t exactly a light conversation topic, especially for two closed-off men like them, but he was powering ahead anyway. _He just wants to get to know you_ , Steve reminded himself.

“It wasn’t too bad,” he allowed. “Not the easiest, but I dated women, too, so…it could have been worse.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, to talk with you. That’s a father’s job, to help his children through the hard things.”

Steve swallowed all the petty words that wanted to bubble up—they were trying, and he was focusing on the good. He wasn’t sure what else to say. “Well, I made it.”

“I’m not sure how I would have handled it back then, but I would like to think that I would have been as fine with it then as I am now.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Dad. I really do appreciate the support,” he said honestly.

“I know I have a lot to make up for, but I’m going to try,” John said, slinging his arm around Steve’s neck and knocking their heads together briefly. “Will you let me?”

Steve chuckled and nodded again. “Okay. I will, I’ll try, too.”

* * *

Over the next couple months, they fell into a comfortable rhythm. Steve worked out constantly, trained some at Pearl, and spent a lot of time with Grace. He had also taken up cooking, which Danny found equal parts flabbergasting and amazing. (He did not hate coming home to a hot dinner, no sir. He was pissed that Steve wouldn’t wear the apron he bought him, though.) And the sex actually got _better_ , which Danny truly did not think was possible. He had forgotten how a steady dose of orgasms could have such a large impact on his mood.

Steve still had a tendency to get bored, so Danny let him help read cases and do research with them at the office. Not that he was surprised at all, really, but Steve was incredibly smart and quick, a serious asset. He wasn’t in the field with them, of course—though Danny had to have that argument about every other day—but he helped out all the same.

And his relationship with John was thawing, slowly but surely. They met occasionally for dinner, or beers, and Danny joined sometimes—from what he could tell and what he could wheedle out of Steve, it was getting better.

Danny knew it wasn’t the smartest of plans, but he kept his head firmly in the sand about Steve’s return to the Navy. He didn’t pay attention to how the days were dwindling down, and he didn’t let himself think about what their relationship would be like once Steve was off gallivanting around the world. Because right now, living under the same roof, it was pretty fucking great.

He was pretty devoted to his new motto: ignorance is bliss.

* * *

Danny walked into the kitchen one night after work and tossed a piece of stiff paper onto the table in front of Steve. “So we’ve been invited to some fancy event tomorrow night at the governor’s mansion.”

Steve frowned up at him before studying the invitation. “We have? That’s random—why?” 

“Apparently she and your dad are tight, and the whole team is invited.”

“My dad is friends with the governor?” Steve asked, scrunching his brow.

“Yeah, I know, strange,” Danny said with a shrug. “But we’ve been invited, and I got the impression that it wasn’t exactly optional.”

“Huh,” Steve said, tilting his head. “Well, that could be fun, I guess.”

Danny agreed at the time but quickly changed his mind the following night when Steve stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in some kind of fancy, dark Navy uniform. God, this was going to be torture, Danny thought as he bit his lip. He was creased up to perfection, there was a whole heap of medal porn on his chest, and Danny could probably see his reflection in Steve’s shoes. “Are you fucking kidding me with this?” he demanded, gesturing up and down at Steve.

“What?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he looked down at himself. “Do you not think this is appropriate? The invitation said formal, you’re wearing a suit.”

Danny laughed hoarsely and drifted closer to Steve. “Oh, it’s inappropriate, all right. Inappropriate as to what it makes me want to do to you, that is. _Conduct unbecoming_ a Naval officer, I’m sure.”

“Oh,” Steve said, his cheeks coloring. “You like it, then.”

“Yeah, like you don’t know _exactly_ what you look like.”

Steve rolled his eyes and snuck an arm around Danny’s waist. “Not as good as you in that suit.”

“Yeah, right,” he said with a scoff. He’d admit that he looked _good_ in his gray suit, his nicest one, but not really in Steve’s league. “Like anyone’s going to be looking at me, standing next to you.”

“I will be,” Steve said, affronted, and Danny laughed.

“Okay, babe, I’ll give you that one,” he said, tiling his head up for a kiss. Steve ran with it, pressing Danny against wall for a minute and deepening the kiss. Danny gripped Steve’s biceps through the stiff fabric and pushed him back after a long minute, though Steve didn’t let him go far. He took a deep breath and winced as he ran his hand over his hair. “We do actually have to go to the party, though.”

“When we get home, I’ll show you how much I like the suit,” Steve murmured, and Danny groaned.

“Now we _really_ need to go, before I change my mind and make a terrible excuse about how we’re sick. So let’s go, chop chop.”

Steve graciously let him drive—it really shouldn’t be such a rare occasion that he has to be thankful about it, Danny thought mulishly—and he reluctantly handed the keys to the valet once they reached the governor’s mansion. He really dreaded anyone else driving his car, except for Steve, apparently.

The party was as fancy as Danny had expected, with well-dressed beautiful people everywhere. He and Steve helped themselves to the open bar and the passed appetizers—Danny was happy to see some pigs-in-a-blanket and sliders mixed in with the traditional Hawaiian food.

“Look who it is,” Steve said quietly, raising his eyebrows and gazing over Danny’s shoulder. He turned around and winced—Stan and Rachel. “We should go say hello.”

“Do we have to?” he asked, with maybe more of a whine in his voice than was appropriate for his age.

“Of course. I’m an officer _and_ a gentleman, remember?” Steve said with a wink, and Danny groaned.

“You just want to flirt with Rachel again,” he grumbled, but he didn’t resist as Steve steered him in their direction.

“You are the only person I flirt with,” he said firmly, and Danny smirked.

“Rachel,” he said, raising his hand as they came closer. Her eyes widened, and she nudged Stan with what Danny assumed was, by the expression on his face, a very sharp elbow to the stomach.

“Hi, again, Rachel,” Steve said, flashing her his most charming grin. Danny stifled a smile of his own and greatly enjoyed seeing his ex-wife blush.

“Hello, Steve, Daniel,” she said demurely.

“And you must be Stan. Commander McGarrett, nice to meet you,” Steve said, offering his hand to Stan and giving him what Danny could only imagine was a very firm handshake.

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a nod. Danny caught him flexing his hand behind his leg. “Hi, Danny.”

“Stan.” Feigned indifference was about the best he could do, sue him.

“I wasn’t expecting to see the two of you here tonight,” Rachel said.

“Well, Danny is a member of the governor’s task force, which is led by my father,” Steve explained. “He and Governor Jameson are good friends.”

“Ah,” she said, nodding. “When I asked you, Daniel, how the two of you met, you didn’t mention that Steve was the son of your boss.”

Danny gritted his teeth and shrugged. “Just a coincidence, actually.”

“Oh, speaking of, I think I see my father,” Steve said suddenly, pointing off into the crowd. “We should go say hello. Enjoy the rest of the party.”

Steve slid his arm around Danny’s waist and led him off after they said their goodbyes. “Did you really see John?”

“Nope, you were looking a little tense. But that wasn’t so bad,” Steve said as they walked away.

“Could’ve been worse,” Danny allowed. “Let’s go find Chin and Kono and your dad.”


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the end—hope you enjoy it! And thank you so much for all the love, you guys are the best. (Coming next is yet another sequel to a 30-day challenge prompt, this one for [chapter 30](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5283317/chapters/12731111). Should be posted within a week or so.)

Steve took a sip of his drink and surveyed the room. He had lost Danny several minutes ago, but he spotted his dad winding his way through the crowd toward him. “Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, Steve. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course,” he said with a nod. “I didn’t know you and the governor were friends.”

“We knew each other a little bit through some mutual friends, and then when she got elected, we started talking about the task force,” he said. “Have you met her yet?”

Steve shook his head. “No, I—”

“Hello, John.”

Steve turned around and found himself face-to-face with the governor herself. “Hi, Governor,” his dad said, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

“Commander McGarrett,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’ve heard so much from John, it’s great to finally meet you.”

“Steve, please, ma’am,” he said with a polite smile. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Have you been enjoying your time off in Hawaii?”

“Yes, it’s been very nice to be home for a little while. And thank you so much for inviting us.”

“Oh, of course. Your father’s task force has done such great work. Speaking of,” she said, her eyes twinkling, “have you given any though to our proposition?”

“Excuse me?” Steve asked. He furrowed his brow. “I’m afraid I’m not—”

“We haven’t discussed it yet, actually,” John piped in hurriedly. “It’s been quite busy since Steve’s been back.”

“Ah,” she said with a diplomatic nod. “Well, keep me updated.”

“I most definitely will,” John said.

“Unfortunately, I’ve got more schmoozing to do. Lovely to meet you, Steve,” she said, her hand warm on his arm. “The two of you enjoy the party, and I’ll talk to you soon, John.”

“What the hell was that about?” Steve demanded, once the governor was safely out of earshot.

“I—I was planning to wait a little while before talking to you about this,” John said, clearly hesitant. “But somehow I don’t think you’re going to stand for that.”

“Look at that, you do know me after all.” Steve said. Just the hint of a small smile showed on his face, and John huffed a laugh.

“Let’s go find somewhere quiet, then.”

John clearly knew his way around the governor’s mansion because he led them straight to a small patio that was scattered with chairs and largely free of party guests.

“So what was that about?” Steve asked after they sat down, getting straight to the point.

“Well, we—the governor and myself—would like to invite you to join the task force.”

Steve blinked and leaned forward in his chair, bracing his forearms on his thighs. “What?” Of all the things he expected his father to say, this wasn’t anywhere on the list. They wanted him to be a part of the _task force_?

“You are clearly very skilled at your job, and you would be a tremendous asset to this team. We were created to handle the big crimes in Hawaii, some of the exact same things that you have experience with.”

“So you want me to be a cop?”

“Well, in essence, yes. Though we figured you would also want to stay in the Reserves, which would be fine, of course.”

“Huh,” Steve said. He took a long swig of his drink and rubbed his hand over his face.

“Plus, I don’t much want to be in the field anymore, and god willing, I’d like to fully retire before too long. And you would be the perfect person to lead this team.”

“I—I don’t know what to say,” he said, which was partly a lie. He knew exactly what he _wanted_ to say, but what he _should_ say or what he _needed_ to say might be a different matter altogether.

John nodded. “I’m sorry if this seems out of the blue. You can have as much time as you want to think about it.”

“Thanks,” he said absently, already lost in a cloud of cascading thoughts.

They sat there for several minutes before Danny’s voice broke through the silence. “Hey, there.”

Steve twisted in his seat and smiled at the sight of him, his blue eyes bright even in the shadows. “Hi.”

“So is this where you guys go to get away from the party?” Danny asked, leaning against the porch railing.

John laughed and pushed himself to his feet. “Yes, and it worked very well. But I should go say hello to some more people. Have a good night, boys,” he said, nodding at Steve and patting Danny on the shoulder before he disappeared back inside.

Danny sat in John’s vacated seat and stretched out his legs. “Lost you in there. I found Chin and Kono, though. She brought some guy, who was holding up pretty well against Chin’s intensive line of questioning.”

Steve laughed and scooted his chair closer to Danny’s, wincing at the harsh scrape of metal against concrete. “Brave man, good for her. I met the governor.”

“Yeah?” he asked. “What’s she like? I haven’t actually met her.”

“She’s nice,” he said, shrugging. “Good politician. And she, uh—”

“And…,” Danny said, making a _go on_ motion with his hand.

“That’s all,” he said, with a wan smile. He couldn’t tell Danny, not yet. “She’s nice.”

“Hmm. You seem distracted,” Danny said, his eyes narrow and flicking around Steve’s face.

“It’s you in that suit,” Steve said with a grin. It was part of the truth, anyway, that’s for sure. “What else am I supposed to focus on?”

“Let’s go home, then,” he said, grabbing Steve’s hand and tugging lightly. “You think we’ve put in enough time here?”

“Oh, yeah.” Steve stood, hauling Danny up with him, and paused for a quick kiss before he slung an arm around Danny’s shoulders and guided him through the party and out the door. He handed off their ticket to the valet guy and hauled Danny closer, breathing deep to take in the mix of Danny’s spicy cologne and the plumerias. Yeah, they needed to go home before Steve got a really inappropriate erection in his dress uniform.

He snatched the keys from the valet, making Danny laugh. “You sure you’re okay to drive?”

“Yeah, I only had two,” he called out as he circled the front of the Camaro to the driver’s side.

He drove them home quickly, so much so that Danny was grabbing the handle above the door and cursing at him. It certainly didn’t help his erection problem, though, because there was nothing he liked more than a feisty Danny.

“…seriously, Steve, they’re called _speed limits_ and they’re there for a reason, they’re not suggestions,” Danny said, wincing as Steve yanked the car into the driveway. “I could give you a ticket, you know.”

“You would never,” Steve said dismissively as he jumped out of the car and stalked up to the door, knowing that Danny was right behind him. He unlocked it with his key and needlessly grabbed Danny by the tie to tug him inside, pushing him right up against the wall.

Danny, to his credit, was right there, pulling his head down and kissing him first. Steve groaned in relief and got his hands on Danny’s face, prying his lips apart with his tongue and rubbing his cheeks with his thumbs until Danny was sinking against the wall.

“Fuck me, Danny, c’mon,” he mumbled against his lips, and Danny groaned into his mouth.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling back from the kiss and blinking hazily. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

Danny towed him by the hand through the house toward the bedroom and took control, stripping Steve naked and hanging up his uniform before he even knew what happened. He gulped and stumbled, landing on the edge of the bed as Danny straddled his lap. He was still fully-clothed, and the illicit feel of it made Steve thrust up against him and moan into his mouth.

He scrabbled at Danny’s jacket, forcing it off his shoulders onto the floor, and then started in on his shirt buttons. They were impossibly small in his trembling fingers, especially with the added distraction of Danny’s tongue in his mouth and hands in his hair, but he was a SEAL, he could manage. Steve hummed in victory when he finally succeeded, and he rewarded himself by sliding his hands into the open shirt and spreading them across Danny’s warm skin.

Danny’s own hands were busy, one sliding down Steve’s bare back and the other still in his hair, tugging sharply every time Steve hit a sensitive spot. “Goddamn it,” he said sharply as he fingers slipped on the knot of Danny’s tie. Danny chuckled and sat back a little, tipping his head back to give Steve more room. He focused and finally got it undone, throwing it to the side with an approving noise.

Danny shrugged off the shirt and stood up to fumble with his pants. Steve followed, batting Danny’s hands away until he could undo his pants and—

“ _Shit_ , Danny, commando?” Steve whispered as he palmed Danny’s ass with one hand and used the other to yank his pants down. He shoved Danny down onto their bed and—wait, when had he started thinking of it as _their_ bed? Steve paused, looking around their bedroom from their bathroom, where he and Danny shaved while standing next to each other at the sink, to their closet, where all his clothes mingled with Danny’s. He blinked and made some edits to the mental tally of whether he was going to take the job or not.

“Babe?”

Steve pushed all those thoughts out of his head as he looked down at Danny and smiled. Regardless of whatever happened in the future, he was sure as hell going to enjoy this right now. Danny pulled him down into an eager kiss, all tongue and teeth, and Steve covered him with his weight as he gave back as good as he got. Danny pushed him off after a minute, reaching to grab the lube and rearranging them until he was spooned up behind Steve.

He groaned, arching back against Danny’s body. He’d been surprised, at first, at how well they fit together in this position. But almost all of their height difference was in their legs, and Danny’s shoulders were even a bit broader than his.

The first touch of Danny’s finger was cold, and Steve gasped at the same time as he pushed back with his hips. “Jesus fuck, Danny,” he said, panting against the pillow.

“Been wanting this ever since I saw you in that—that _fucking_ uniform,” Danny said into his ear, and Steve shivered, as much from the tone of Danny’s voice as the words.

“Yeah,” he gasped. “Whatever you want, Danny, take it.”

Danny whined at that and gently slid in a second finger, making Steve clench around him and thrust forward against nothing. “And then that party, where everyone was looking at you, everyone wanted you. But you left with me.”

Steve braced an arm against the bed and tried to stay balanced on his side. “Only you,” he said hoarsely. “God, fuck, only you. Only this.”

There were _three_ fingers now, curling to nudge against his prostate, and Steve fought the urge to reach for his dick. He could easily— _so_ easily—get off on this, just Danny’s thick fingers inside him and his sex-drenched voice dripping into Steve’s ear. “Just me?”

He groaned and tried to remember how to breathe. “Just you. But I’m about to come and I really need you to fuck me.”

“I’m not even touching your dick,” Danny said, and for some reason the smug note in his voice only turned Steve on more.

“It’s just your—just your voice. Please, Danny,” Steve said, losing his balance and bracing his forehead against the pillow.

Danny’s fingers slipped out, making him wince, and the delicious heat was gone from his back for a second. Steve took advantage of the respite to relax, get some composure, but he barely got a handle on his thoughts before Danny was back against him, the slick head of his dick pressing against him. Steve heaved a breath and stilled, relaxing his body as Danny slipped all the way in. “Oh, god, babe,” Danny said, his voice muffled against Steve’s skin. “You feel so fucking good.”

Words were no longer possible for Steve, so he grunted his agreement and pushed his hips back. When Danny leaned up on one arm and Steve twisted his head, they were able to kiss. It was wet and sloppy and completely graceless, but Steve needed it more than air.

“Been thinking about this all day,” Danny murmured.

“Yeah?” Steve responded, which was about all he could manage. Danny’s hips were like a fucking metronome, slow and steady, and Steve stopped trying to keep up, choosing instead to lie there and take it.

“Mmm, all the time,” he said with a delicious hitch in his breath. “Can you come just like this, babe?”

Grunting at the thought, Steve arched his back to change the angle and dropped his mouth on a wordless moan. Danny leaned more weight into him, tipping him further onto his front, and Steve shot out a hand to brace himself. Every thrust sent little sparks of light and heat up his spine, and the cool sheets rubbed hot against his dick. He could most definitely come like this, given a few minutes, but he didn’t want to. “Fuck, Danny, right there, don’t stop,” Steve gritted out, paying no attention to the desperation in his voice. “But I want—need your hand.”

Danny’s hand curled over his hip as his mouth followed the curve of his shoulder, sucking and biting up to his neck. “Yeah, yeah, babe, I’m here,” he said. “Always here, always gotcha.”

His grip was dry and strong, and it only took two squeezes and a swipe of his thumb over the head for Steve to come with a vicious groan, long ropes stretching onto the sheets and dripping onto Danny’s hand. “Danny, Danny, fuck, Danny,” he mumbled into the pillow. Danny felt impossibly huge inside him now, and he used the very last vestige of his energy to clench around him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Danny chanted, slurring the words into Steve’s hair. He snapped his hips hard one last time and stayed pressed against Steve for a long moment before slumping on top of him fully with a sigh.

Danny was murmuring something, words that Steve probably wanted to hear, and his hand was skimming along his side. Steve snatched the hand on its next pass, pulling it underneath him as he breathed in the scent of their sheets and let Danny’s weight press him down.

* * *

Danny fumbled with his keys and finally got into the house, pausing to stretch so thoroughly that his back popped. They’d been working day and night on their current case, and he was just thankful for a few hours of respite—all he wanted was some food, a shower, and maybe an orgasm, preferably in that order. He would also like some company for all three, if he was wishing for things, but the house was dark and quiet.

The light on the answering machine was blinking, so he hit the button and listened to the message while he flicked through the mail. “Hello, Steve, this is Governor Jameson. I hope this message reaches you—this was the only number John had on him when I asked. He told me that he spoke to you last week about joining the task force, and I wanted to reiterate our interest in having you on the team. We would be lucky to have you, and I really hope you do consider it. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Danny dropped down onto the couch and just stared at the machine, as if it could answer all of the questions that were flying through his mind. He reached out on autopilot and pressed the button to replay the message, mostly because he wasn’t sure what else to do. John and the governor wanted Steve to be on the task force? And Steve hadn’t told him about it? The way Jameson had worded the message, it sounded like Steve was hesitant and in need of convincing. Was he planning to just go back to the Navy without even telling Danny about the offer?

A slamming door broke Danny out of his thoughts, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Steve coming in with two plastic bags in his hands. “Danno? I picked up some dinner, those burgers you like.”

Danny cleared his throat. “In here.”

He shifted to face Steve, who stopped short as he crossed the threshold of the living room. “What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately wary. In lieu of answering, Danny just hit the button on the answering machine again. Steve blew out a breath as he listened and crossed the room to join Danny on the couch.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Danny demanded.

“I—”

“Were you _ever_ going to tell me?” he continues, talking over Steve. “I mean, I would never expect you to drop your, your entire _career_ for someone that you’ve been dating for a few months, but it would have been nice to be consulted about it, at least.”

“Danny? May I—?” Steve asked, gesturing toward himself. Danny scowled and waved one hand impatiently before folding his arms across his chest.

“Fine. Go ahead.”

“When my dad asked me at the governor’s party,” he said carefully, “I wanted to say yes immediately. To stay close to you and to Grace.”

Danny blinked. That wasn’t what he was expecting Steve to say. “But I—”

“ _But_ , just as you said, I did have my career to consider. And that’s why I didn’t tell you—because I knew I would be so excited and I would just say yes, when what I really needed to do was think about it.”

“You’re using past tense there, babe,” Danny said, wary.

“That’s because I’m done thinking.”

“And?”           

Steve took a deep breath and slid closer to Danny on the couch. “And I would like to accept their offer.”

Danny was speechless for a rare second, and he reached out blindly, landing on Steve’s knee. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve also talked to my people in the Navy, and a transfer to the Reserves is possible.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“It means that I would train occasionally, mostly at Pearl. A couple weeks a year and on some weekends. And of course, if they needed me, I could be called back,” Steve said. “What about you? Do you want to think about it?”

“I’ve been giving it a lot of thought over the past four minutes, and I’d really like it if you took that offer,” Danny said with a grin as he tugged Steve closer by his hips and kissed him.

“I’m serious,” Steve said, smiling against his lips, and Danny pulled back to look him in the eye.

“So am I. I would love nothing more than if you stayed here. That’s what I’ve been pretending this whole time, anyway.”

Steve laughed. “Me too.”

“So what—I mean, how’d you decide this?”

“I have enjoyed my life in the Navy. But that’s exactly what it was—it was my whole life, not just my career. And I’ve realized that I want more from my life than just that.”

“I’m really happy that you want to stay,” Danny said quietly.

“I’m happy you _want_ me to stay,” Steve said, sliding closer still and looking Danny right in the eye. “I love you.”

Danny really couldn’t help the little surprised squeak that popped out of him, but Steve manfully didn’t mention it. “I love you, too, you goof.”

Steve grinned, brighter than the sun, and pressed forward to cover Danny with his body, pushing him down against the couch. Danny opened up to the kiss eagerly, spreading his legs to make room for Steve and carding his fingers through his hair. He slid his hands up Steve’s back, rucking up his shirt, and gasped into his mouth as Steve started working at his zipper.

“Wait, wait, have you told John?”

Steve groaned into the kiss and rested his forehead against Danny’s shoulder. “I would really prefer to _not_ talk about my dad when my hand is in your pants. For the record.”

Danny huffed and sat up, dislodging Steve’s hand. “Let’s tell them! Everyone’s still at HQ—I only got to leave for dinner because I was there really early this morning.”

“But,” Steve said, reaching for him with that damn face on. Danny closed his eyes—he could resist the plaintive eyes, he really could, as long as he couldn’t see them—and shook his head.

“I’ll still be here when we get home. C’mon, let’s go tell them.”

* * *

Danny was giddier than he’d ever seen him, and it made Steve feel lighter than air. Everything just felt _right_ , and he’d never been more confident about a decision in his entire life. Danny literally dragged him by the hand into the building and up to his— _their_ —offices. “Hey!” he yelled once they stumbled through the doors. “We got news, come on out here.”

Chin and Kono looked thoroughly confused as they drifted into the bullpen, but Steve detected a hint of a knowing smile on his dad’s face. “Well, we know you’re not pregnant,” Kono said with a smirk, “so what is it?”

“Haha, very funny,” Danny said flatly, rolling his eyes in her direction. He gestured at Steve, who swallowed hard.

“I, uh—I have decided to transfer to the Reserves and accept the governor’s offer to join the task force.”

There was silence for a long second, and then Kono laughed and rushed forward to throw her arms around his neck. “That’s so great, you’ll fit right in.”

Steve exhaled as he hugged her back. He’d been a little worried about their reaction, to be honest— _nepotism_ , the little voice in his head liked to say—but they seemed pleased. Chin shook his hand firmly and clapped him on the shoulder. “Aloha, Steve. We’re so happy to have you.”

“Mahalo, guys,” he said with a grin. John was still hanging back, so Steve opened his arms and wiggled his fingers. “C’mere, Dad.”

John chuckled as he stepped forward, and Steve couldn’t help but compare this hug to their beyond-awkward first one—they’d come a long way. “I’m so glad, Steve,” he said quietly in his ear.

Steve released his dad with a hard squeeze and stepped back toward Danny, slinging a casual arm around his shoulders. “By the way, does this task force even have a name?”

“Everyone keeps shooting down my suggestions,” Chin said with a mock frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, we could never decide on one, and then everything got busy with cases and we kinda forgot about it,” Kono said. “Why? You got an idea?”

Steve tilted his head and met his dad’s gaze. “How about Five-0?”

* * *

  _18 months later_

“Can we leave yet, Danno?” Grace asked, literally jumping up and down in place. “Please?”

“We can’t leave until everyone else gets here, monkey,” Danny said with a smile. “We all want to go together, remember?”

“Yeah,” she said, sighing. “When are they supposed to be here?”

“Um,” Danny said as he glanced at his watch. “About 15 minutes.”

“Can we at least wait outside for them?”

“Sure, let’s do that,” he said, laughing—he was pretty excited, too, after all. He ushered her outside and convinced her to sit relatively still on the porch steps.

“And how long do you think we’re going to have to wait when we get there?”

“I have no idea,” he said honestly.

“I hope it’s not long.”

“Me too, monkey.”

It looked like everyone else was equally as excited, considering that a familiar car pulled up 10 minutes ahead of schedule. “Let’s go, guys!” Kono yelled, leaning out the open driver’s side window. “What are we waiting for?”

Grace cheered and ran over to say hi to her and John and Chin, while Danny just waved and waited by the Camaro. He was the antsy one now.

“I’ll follow you, brah,” Kono said, with a sloppy salute, and Danny grinned.

He forced himself to keep a steady speed as he drove, letting Grace’s constant chatter lull him into a sense of calmness. They hadn’t seen Steve in over four months, not since the Navy called and took him away from them for a special mission that apparently only he could do. 

It had been a long four months.

He had been able to call only three times, and Danny let Grace dominate most of the conversations. She and Steve had quite the strong bond, and it just amplified Danny’s pain to know how much it was hurting Grace, as well. It was hard for them—more visibly for Grace, more deeply for Danny—especially because they didn’t know where he was, of course, or even how long he would been gone.

So when he called last week with the news that he was finally on his way home, to say they were _both_ excited was a vast understatement.

Danny drove to Pearl mostly on autopilot and followed the directions from the nice Navy woman he had talked on the phone with yesterday. He pulled into a small parking lot, which was separated from a runway by a wide swath of grass. This wasn’t a huge homecoming event, but there were several dozen people, mostly families, waiting with them under the large white tent.

“Uncle Chin, can I get up on your shoulders so I can see better?” Grace asked. “I’m sorry, Danno, but he’s taller.”

Danny let out a sigh, full of mock disappointment, but grinned as he swept her up, giggling, and deposited her on Chin’s shoulders.

There were planes taking off and landing fairly regularly, but the crowd started tittering as one large gray plane landed on the other side of the runway and started moving slowly in their direction. “Do you think that’s it?” Grace asked, looking down at Danny from her perch.

“I don’t know, but I sure hope so.” He could faintly see streams of people exiting the plane, but they were too far away for him to pick out Steve. It was complete chaos when they all reached the tent, with lots of screams and hugs and laughs, but he still couldn’t see anything.

“Steve!” Grace squealed suddenly, pointing. She squirmed restlessly until Chin set her down on her feet, and then she was off like a shot. Danny lost her quickly in the throngs of people, but several long seconds later, the crowd parted and Danny’s heart clenched in his chest.

Grace’s arms were wrapped around Steve’s neck, her legs around his waist, and he was cradling her with both arms like the precious creature she was. Danny could tell from the shake of Grace’s shoulders that she was crying, but he couldn’t hear the soothing words that Steve was saying to her. It must have worked, though, because the bright lilt of Grace’s laughter floated over to him, and he could finally take a deep breath.

Grace pointed out their little group, and Steve started to stride toward them. Danny had an unobstructed view now, and his eyes slid shamelessly up and down Steve’s body, ostensibly checking for injuries. He was a little leaner than when he left, and his beard was longer, but other than that he looked like the same man Danny loved.

Grace was still in his arms, though he shifted her to one hip as he got close so he could greet everyone else. Steve grinned at Danny, his eyes bright, but reached for his dad first. “Good to have you home, son,” he said gruffly, and Steve hugged him tight. He clapped Chin on the back, let Kono kiss him on the cheek, and then he was standing in front of Danny.

Danny wasn’t sure how it happened, but suddenly he was in Steve’s embrace, choking back a sob with one arm around Grace and one around Steve. Steve kissed him, firm and solid, and Danny reluctantly kept it PG. Still, he felt settled for the first time in four months. “Welcome home, babe.”

“I love you and missed you so much,” Steve whispered into his neck. “Marry me, Danno.”

Danny pulled back and laughed, still floating high on all the emotions rushing through him. “Oh my god, you are actually insane.”

“I am completely serious,” Steve said, and sure enough, he had that small, thoughtful smile on. “I would get down on one knee, but I’m pretty sure you would just laugh at me again.”

Danny sobered suddenly, and the noise of the crowd completely fell away as he stared at Steve, the handsome planes of his face, his warm eyes. He swallowed hard, and the words just bubbled out of him, unfettered. “Yeah, you big goof, of course I’ll marry you.”

Grace squealed, right in Danny’s ear, and Steve’s face broke into that goofy, ear-to-ear grin as he hauled him close again for another hug. Danny inhaled deeply, taking a whiff of the smell that had been missing from their bed, and hid his smile in the folds of Steve’s uniform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending is super sappy and fluffy, but who cares?? ♥ My original outline had Steve going back to the Navy for a little while before deciding to join 5-0. I decided to change it—this was already getting really long and I couldn’t quite get the plot where I wanted it—but I was bummed to miss out on a “coming home” scene. So now you have this. :)


End file.
